Boyz strong despite injuries - Whitmore

National senior team head coach Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore said that although the team has been ravaged by injuries to a number of senior players, his objective is to go to Bonaire, score lots of goals, keep a clean sheet, and come home with the three points.

The coach also had a warning for Owayne Gordon, who he believes should be contributing more to the team.

Whitmore said that he was confident that they have more than enough quality to take the three points when they travel to face Bonaire this Sunday in the CONCACAF League of Nations.

"We want to go there and get as many goals as possible and don't concede. If we go into the game with a mindset that it is going to be easy and we will win, we are going to defeat the purpose. We have to be committed when we play and don't take the team for granted, so we have to be focus going to Bonaire.

"The main objective is the points, so we have to treat these (League of Nations) games as very important. For the upcoming game against Bonaire, we are hit with a lot of injuries. We have (Adrian) Marriappa, Kemar Lawrence, Alvas Powell, and Oneil Fisher, out injured. But although there are many injuries, we believe we have players good enough to go there and get the job done," he said.

Meanwhile, Whitmore reiterated the need for players to perform and deliver when they get their opportunities in order to keep their place in the team, and he singled out Montego Bay winger, Owayne Gordon as one such player who is not living up to expectation.

Disappointed

"I am very disappointed. Owayne has played how many games for the country now and has not scored a goal for the sort of position that he plays, and he is not playing in the goal or around the back. He is one of the more talented players," Whitmore criticised.

"But if you break down Owayne Gordon's performance to Alex Marshall's when he came on the field (Cayman match), Alex contributed more than Owayne Gordon. So we are not going to sit here and wait on any player, whether Owayne Gordon or anybody.

"If you are not delivering, you are going to find yourself out. It's as simple as that. He has played how many games for the country in an attacking position and has failed to score. He has to set goals and objectives. When you are playing against a team like Cayman, you have to start somewhere, but how many shots did Owayne Gordon kick at Cayman's goal? It's a serious concern," he said.

At the same time, he is not 100 per cent pleased with the application of Corey Burke, who netted twice in the Cayman game.

"Corey Burke is not up to speed. He is off the pace, but once Corey Burke's mind is in the right place, we know we can get good things from him. We know what he has and what he can deliver," Whitmore commented while adding that young Jaedin White could also make his competitive debut.