Jordan test for Reggae Boyz

After going winless in six starts, Reggae Boyz head coach Heimer Hallgrimsson has admitted that they need to start winning and they will be doing enough to get a victory today when they take on Jordan in an international friendly at the Wiener Neustadt Ergo Arena in Austria. Kick off is 7 a.m. (Jamaica time).

However, Hallgrimsson maintains that preparing the players and the team tactically for the upcoming Concacaf Gold Cup tournament in the United States remains their main focus.

“We are first of all trying to gel players in how we want to play. Tomorrow (today) will be a totally different approach from against Qatar, not because of the opponents. but because of how we would like to prepare and be ready for everything that teams in the Gold Cup will throw at us. So we can be ready to change the tactics during a game.

“So that is how we want to use the friendlies, to learn and improve the team but also to look at players to see if these are the players we would like to carry not only for the Gold Cup, but the World Cup in 2026,” he pointed out.

Nevertheless, after three defeats and three draws, Hallgrimsson knows that the demand for a win is getting stronger and admits that getting the result is also in the plans.

“I have often been criticised for friendlies, not putting the best team out to win the friendly matches. But I think the purpose of friendlies is to try to grow without thinking too much about the win. But we are up to that point where we need to start to win, so we will at least do our best to win tomorrow,” he commented ahead of today’s match.

Although victories have been elusive, Hallgrimsson believes that the players are adapting to his demands and he believes he has found a complement of players to undertake the Gold Cup and World Cup journeys.

However, he said there are some players who still need more playing time to show what they can do and that those players will get their opportunities today.

“We are getting there slowly. We are finding the players that we would like to carry at the moment. We are finding the group of players we think are suited for what we would like to do.

“So we are in the process of looking at future players. But we have to decide how much playing time the players will have here in Austria. So it’s more about fitness and about being ready for the Gold Cup more than playing players to win and risking injury or fatigue,” he said.

Meanwhile, captain and goalkeeper Andre Blake,who missed the 2-1 loss to Qatar, is expected to make his return to the line-up, and he echoed his coach’s sentiments.

“Everytime we get a friendly, it is always important to win, but this is also a chance for the coach to tweak a few things or try players in different positions.

“So sometimes it’s not all about winning but finding what you need and fine-tuning what needs to be fine-tuned,” he said.

Both countries were beaten in their last match. Jamaica lost 2-1 to Qatar last Thursday while Jordan were clipped 3-2 by Serbia on Friday.

Meanwhile, the 23-man squad for the Gold Cup will be named after today’s game. The Gold Cup kicks off on June 24.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com