Reason to ‘Whisper’

REGGAE BOYZ coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said his reasons for including Dujuan ‘Whisper’ Richards in his 23-man squad for the Gold Cup are his age and potential.

During the Boyz post-match press conference after their 2-1 defeat to Jordan, Hallgrimsson named his squad for the Gold Cup but had to face questions about why Richards was selected ahead of Jamaica Premier League (JPL) top scorers Colin Anderson and Trivante Stewart.

Anderson and Stewart are actively playing with their clubs, while Richards, who has a pre-contract with Chelsea Football Club, highest level of competition has been schoolboy football, which has been on a break.

However, Hallgrimsson pointed out that Richards has the potential to be one of Jamaica’s greatest-ever players and believes he can gain valuable experience being part of a tournament of this magnitude.

“I think we all agree that he has weapons in his armoury that are way beyond a 17-year-old. So, he could be, and I am saying because you never know with a 17, 18, 19-year-old, where their career will go.

“But at this stage we believe this kid can go all the way and be one of the best players for Jamaica in the future. But we have to see where the future will take him and what decisions he will make and how he will use the opportunities he is getting now,” he said.

“So we think it is good, and when you have a squad for a tournament where there are going to be a few players that will not have a lot of playing time, we would rather have those players young so they gain experience, and he is one of these guys.”

INTERNATIONAL DEBUT

Richards, who made his international debut against Trinidad and Tobago in March and has four caps with the national team, has showed that he has numerous qualities that can make him a real impact player, said Hallgrimsson.

“He showed (against Jordan) that he can be a good impact player. He is unpredictable. He can go with the left, go with the right. He is good in the dribble. He is fast. So he can be a really good impact player for us.

“But for us, it is to work with him for future sake because, hopefully, he will be one of Jamaica’s greatest in the future,” said the coach.

He also had to justify the selection of the young player ahead of experienced midfielder Ravel Morrison, who is also without a club.

“He is a young player, so you never know. But the reason for picking him are his qualities. I expected the question on Ravel and Dujuan. The difference is, of course, the age,” he declared.

He pointed out that they have had Ravel in all the squads he has named and he has played in all the matches until the Austria tour.

He noted that Morrison was not playing for DC when they played Mexico at the end of March, and that he used the two games against Trinidad to help him get some playing time.

“We told him it would be difficult to pick him for the Gold Cup squad if he wasn’t playing regular football. I had a good talk with him weeks ago, as just for professional reasons he deserves to know that he was not going to be selected, and he was appreciative that we did that.

“Hopefully, he will find a good club and he will start playing well and we will pick him for the next camp that we will do.”

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com