Angus Eve’s trusted men at his side

INTERIM Trinidad and Tobago men’s head coach Angus Eve has surrounded himself with a few trusted assistant coaches as he prepares the Soca Warriors for Gold Cup qualification. Eve and his assistants should all be on the same page as they have worked or played together on teams in the past.

Eve, assistant coaches Reynold Carrington and Hutson Charles, along with goalkeeper coach Clayton Ince, are all between their late forties and mid-fifties. The four members of the coaching staff are all former national senior players.

Eve and Ince were team-mates for several years as both made their debut for TT in 1994. Eve last played in 2005 and Ince retired in 2009.

Charles represented the national senior team from 1988-2000 and Carrington was a senior player from 1992-2003.

Eve, the recent head coach of Naparima College, enjoyed success alongside Ince at the school. The pair led the Secondary Schools Football League powerhouse to multiple titles.

Ince also worked as the goalkeeping coach under Eve in the national under-17 set-up last year.

Eve also shares a past relationship with trainer Adarryl John.

John, the strength and conditioning coach of the national senior team, was the under-17 trainer under Eve.

Densill Theobald, a former national team-mate of Eve, said having a coaching staff you are comfortable with is integral to a team’s success.

He told Newsday on Monday, “What makes the relationship even better in the case of Angus Eve and his present staff that was appointed to assist him is he shared a football field with them, he shared a relationship with them – so that makes it even sweeter.

“We know the importance of the job that lies ahead, we know the importance of having competent, trustworthy and honest support staff. Just having personnel that he has a relationship (with) makes the job easier, makes the process even smoother.”

Theobald added, “He (Eve) does not have to keep looking over his back to see if there is any deceit or any mischievous happenings taking place.”

Eve and his assistants take over after their predecessors Terry Fenwick (coach), Kelvin Jack and Derek King (assistants) failed to get TT past the first round of the Concacaf qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.

Although finishing the group phase unbeaten, TT’s 0-0 draw with Bahamas ended the campaign.

It has been alleged that Fenwick did not have the best rapport with his support staff.

A head coach sharing a close relationship with his staff has proved to be a winning formula all over the world.

When coach Leo Beenhakker led TT to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the Dutchman was allowed to bring along his fellow countrymen Theo de Jong and Wim Rijsbergen as assistants.

Stephen Hart, who coached TT from 2013-2016, was arguably this country’s most successful coach since the 2006 World Cup campaign.

During Hart’s tenure the fans came out in droves to support the team as World Cup qualifying matches attracted massive crowds. Under Hart, TT qualified for the hexagonal round of the 2018 World Cup qualifying and the knockout phase of the Gold Cup.

Hart’s coaching staff, which included Derek King, seemed to have that trust and respect as the two worked together after their stint with the national team.

When Hart accepted a coaching offer at Halifax Wanderers in the Canadian Premier League, King eventually joined Hart at the club as an assistant coach.

Hart’s successor Dennis Lawrence followed renowned coach Roberto Martinez as his assistant at Wigan and Everton in the English Premier League.