Defiant Terry Fenwick gets the boot as national men's football team coach

THE FIFA-appointed normalisation committee of the TT Football Association (TTFA) fired men’s national team coach Terry Fenwick and his two assistants Derek King and Kelvin Jack on Friday.

Following King and Jack’s dismissals on Friday morning, uncertainty surrounded Fenwick’s future at the helm of TT football.

However, in a statement issued by acting TTFA general secretary Amiel Mohammed at 6.40 pm on Friday, the local governing body has opted to part ways with the English-born Fenwick, who alongside King and Jack, were appointed to lead the team back in January 2020.

The statement said, “The normalisation committee of the TTFA served notice of termination to senior men’s national team head coach Terry Fenwick.

“Additionally, the normalisation committee has mutually parted company with King and is finalising same with Jack.”

It continued, “Given the financial situation of the TTFA which threatens its ability to fund the coaches at the salary levels that were committed, the (normalisation committee) has met with King and Jack and have come to a mutually agreed position.”

With less than three weeks to go before the start of TT’s 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup quest against Montserrat on July 2, the TTFA will now prioritise its appointment of an interim coach together with a coaching staff next week ahead of the tournament’s preliminary round match.

A selection panel led by normalisation committee member Nicholas Gomez and comprising Anton Corneal, Anthony Sherwood and Richard Chinapoo will meet to finalise the selection of the interim TT men's coach. The temporary coach together with the panel will then establish the supporting team for the forthcoming qualifiers.

Fenwick told Newsday, on Friday morning, that resigning was out of the question given his undefeated tournament record (two wins, two draws) as TT coach. Fenwick lost his lone international friendly 7-0 against the US on January 31.

The dismissals of Fenwick and his assistants comeson the heels of TT missing out on qualifying for the second round of Concacaf qualifiers to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

TT won their opening Group F game against Guyana 3-0, drew 1-1 against Puerto Rico and 0-0 against Bahamas and then beat St Kitts/Nevis 2-0 in their final match. If TT had won the group, they would have advanced to next round of Concacaf qualifying.

However, TT (ranked 103 on the FIFA rankings) displayed a toothless effort against the Bahamians (ranked 201) last Saturday and handed the hosts their only point of the qualifiers.

Hours before the Bahamas match, there was also an incident between Jack and uncapped TT player Gary Griffith III at the team’s camp in Nassau. Griffith III is the son of the nation’s Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith.

Unified Football Coaches of TT (UFCTT) interim president Jefferson George was surprised by the recent shake-up but was pleased to report that both assistant coaches parted ways peacefully with the normalisation committee, which runs the affairs of the TTFA.

“The normalisation committee seems to be in the process of changes. We’d have to wait and see to the extent of those changes and the persons who they will appoint to these positions.

“So far, I can say that they handled the matter with Derek and Kelvin professionally and they showed dignity to the coaches. This is something that we are not accustomed to, unfortunately.

“It was an amicable settlement. The coaches were satisfied. The process was professional. They (normalisation committee) contacted the coaches and sought dialogue to inform the coaches of their decision,” said George.

Angus Eve, former men's team captain and coach of both Pro League outfit Club Sando and Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) giants Naparima College, is rumoured to be among the candidates to replace Fenwick. However, Eve declined comment when contacted on Friday.

But experienced coach Ron LaForest said he is willing to take up the role of national team coach and help return TT to the top of Caribbean football.

LaForest, who coached the national Under-17 team in 2002, said he had previously applied for the position in late 2019 but Fenwick was selected.

“I’ve been coaching all my years; coached at girls’ level and senior level, played at youth and senior level. I think it’s about time that I get a chance to now to at least prove myself and give back something to the country. I’m willing to accept the job, if given the opportunity,” he said.

LaForest has also coached domestically at San Juan Jabloteh, Joe Public, Ma Pau FC and Guaya FC.

When asked what changes he would make to the national men's set-up if he was appointed as team coach, LaForest, the former Defence Force striker said constructing a mostly local-based team would be on the front burner.

Fenwick, however, placed heavy emphasis on utilising several rookie foreign-based players into the senior team.

“For starters, I will not bring so many foreign-based players. I have seen certain TT Pro League teams play before the pandemic hit (in mid-March 2020). These teams have international footballers inside of them. I could select 25 players and get a strong national team right there.

“Not because some players are based abroad means they’re better than all our locally-based talent. I will do things differently by building a solid local team firstly. This will bring back the joy that the game is missing,” he added.