‘I won’t leave’
Whitmore has no plan to resign if Boyz get undesirable result against Canada
Published:Sunday | October 10, 2021 | 12:07 AMRobert Bailey - Sunday Gleaner Writer
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Under-pressure Reggae Boyz head coach Theodore Whitmore says even if they lose to Canada in their FIFA World Cup qualifier at the National Stadium tomorrow, he will not resign his post. The Jamaicans, who have not won a match in their last six...
Under-pressure Reggae Boyz head coach Theodore Whitmore says even if they lose to Canada in their FIFA World Cup qualifier at the National Stadium tomorrow, he will not resign his post.
The Jamaicans, who have not won a match in their last six games, were beaten 2-0 by the United States of America (USA) in their last encounter in Austin, Texas, on Thursday.
Whitmore told The Gleaner in an interview on Friday, upon the team’s arrival at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, that he is still the right man for the job and he is confident he can correct the team’s form.
“I believe in what we have, and I will continue to work with the group until the powers that be make their decision. I won’t leave,” Whitmore said. “You only have to believe, we still have the confidence and when you look at the group, we just have to get something positive out of the Canada game come Sunday and it will be another tough game, but all is not lost.”
LOOKING TO A POSITIVE RESULT
Whitmore said that he is disappointed with the team’s defensive efforts against the Americans, but they have now put that behind them and they are looking forward to a positive result against Canada tomorrow.
“It is not down to one individual,” he said. “It’s a collective effort and it is something that we have to look at. For this game Sunday, we might have to do something unusual, so let’s see.
“We just have to fight, we have to continue to dig deep despite the situation.
“We have a game this Sunday, we have to put this one behind us, we have to do things a bit differently come Sunday for a positive result.”
Reflecting on the Reggae Boyz performance, Whitmore said: “It was a tough loss and it was a difficult game and we know playing against the US in the US was going to be difficult, but I think personally, we had a good first half. Second half, we lost our discipline, we lost our shape and we gave the US a lot of room and that hurt us.
“We conceded early in the second half and it was an uphill battle for us.”
Jamaica sit at the bottom of the eight-team group with one point from four matches.
The USA lead the standing with eight points, same as second-place Mexico. They are followed by Canada on six, Panama and El Salvador on five, ahead of Costa Rica and Honduras on three apiece.