Coach Jones : Trinidad and Tobago women's team need their respect

INTERIM coach of the Trinidad and Tobago women’s football team, Kenwyne Jones, hopes to continue at the helm after his interim stint ends on November 30.

The 37-year-old former TT men’s team captain and striker has also called for more respect to be paid towards the women’s programme, and the players by extension.

Jones was speaking in a zoom media conference on Monday evening, after the TT women team were held to a 1-1 draw by Panama in their second friendly football international, at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva.

The teams played to a 0-0 draw in their first encounter, also at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva on Thursday.

“I have the interim period until the 30th of November,” said Jones, who was appointed as team coach last Monday, after American-born Constantine Konstin resigned less than a week at the helm. “It would be down to the (TT Football) Association and the (FIFA-appointed) normalisation committee to be able to make whatever changes necessary. I do hope that I can stay for the long run because I do see the potential in the team.”

The teams used the pair of matches as preparation for the 2022 Concacaf qualifying round, for spots at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be staged jointly by Australia and New Zealand.

Jones added, “When we get the complete squad, I do believe we have the potential to qualify for the World Cup, but it’s all about doing the work in-between, leading up to the qualifiers.”

He also called for more respect to be given to the players, particularly from local administrators.

“As a former football player, all I think that the women need is respect, for their craft, for what they do,” Jones noted. “They love football and there is room if they want to play football, but we also have to respect the fact that we have to be able to have equality across the board.

“If we don’t do that, we’re going to help stifle a few generations of players. It’s about time that we give them the respect that they deserve.”

Kennya Cordner put TT ahead in the seventh minute before Panama levelled the scores in the 87th through Katherine Castillo.

“I’m a little disappointed that Panama (were) able to equalise from a set-piece so late in the game, but it’s a lesson for us to take forward,” said the TT coach. “I believe that the team (have) a lot more room for improvement but I believe that we’re very happy with the performances that we’ve had so far.

“It’s definitely been a change from the first game that we played Panama to now.”

Jones pointed out, “The result was fair. Panama had the penalty (attempt) and they had a couple half-chances. We also created chances as well and, even down to the end, we had a chance to win it.”

Asked what the key takeaways were from the two games, Jones replied, “We’re presently happy with the team. We made a lot of adjustments tactically from the first game. I’m happy to see that the players were able to take it on board and attempt to make it happen. “Definitely in the future, we’re going to get better at it. This is not the final squad.

“We have a lot more (players) to see, (who) we believe could add quality to most that we have here, and we’re looking forward to seeing them. We have to continue the preparation and continue to work and get better every day.”