Reggae Boyz head coach Steve McClaren expressed confidence in his team to bounce back in decisive fashion as they prepare for a must-win Concacaf Gold Cup Group C showdown against Guadeloupe at PayPal Park in San Jose on Friday.

The clash, scheduled for 6:45pm Jamaica time, serves as the curtain-raiser to the top-of-the-table duel between Panama and Guatemala.

While he acknowledged that the 1-0 defeat to Guatemala left a bitter taste, especially after entering the tournament with high expectations, McClaren stressed the need for a reaction from his Boyz, as they aim to keep their hopes of progressing beyond the group stage alive.

"We were very disappointed against Guatemala. It wasn’t the start we wanted. But the mood has lifted since, and now the focus is firmly on Guadeloupe. We need a reaction from the team, and hopefully we get a better performance and a result," McClaren admitted in Thursday’s pre-match press conference.

McClaren knows all too well that the Boyz, twice runners-up in the Gold Cup over the past decade, have no room for error, as victory against Guadeloupe, followed by another win against Panama next Tuesday, is now non-negotiable.

As such, the tactician pointed out that part of the recovery process is psychological, as they reset the players’ focus to let go of the Guatemala loss.

“That’s always the challenge. But it’s not just the coaches; it’s also the players’ responsibility to pick themselves up. This will be a different kind of game, so we have to be prepared and ready and make sure we have that mentality to give a reaction in performance. If we get the performance, we'll get the results," McClaren stated.

Much of the post-match analysis after the Guatemala game centered on Jamaica’s midfield, an area McClaren openly acknowledged remains a work in progress, especially with the absence of Isaac Hayden, who returned home with ongoing stomach and respiratory issues.

"It's been a problem from the first time I came in. I think we identified Isaac Hayden as an important recruitment, and he has stabilized our midfield. I think long term when we're looking at World Cup qualifiers, and as long as Isaac stays fit, we have that ideal person that glues the team together," McClaren shared.

"When he's not here, we're searching around a little bit for a solution, and at the moment we haven't found that ideal six, for me anyway, that can play that role. People have done a great job in there, and we've tried to help the team also with an inverted fullback to give us a little bit more stability in there. But it is a conundrum, and one that we have to find a solution for," he added.

One of the silver linings of this tournament, McClaren believes, is the integration of younger talent.

"This tournament gives us a great opportunity to fill the squad with young players like Rumarn [Burrell], Dwayne Atkinson, Warner Brown, and Kaheim Dixon, and [Renaldo] Cephas is still relatively young. It's great to see them blending in with the more experienced players. So, when it comes to the World Cup qualifiers, hopefully we have players that we didn't see before that we may include, and we've also got players that we're also trying to recruit, but everything is building towards those six games," he noted.

Still, McClaren is under no illusion about the threat Guadeloupe poses. The French-speaking Caribbean side may not have the star power of traditional regional giants, but they are no pushovers, and Jamaica needed a late winner to beat them 2-1 the last time they met at the 2021 Gold Cup.

"We focus on the present and one game at a time. The most important thing is Guadeloupe tomorrow and that we get a reaction from the team. It's not about tactics, it's not about midfield, it's about a reaction mentality to bounce back, show resilience, and get a result," he declared.

"Guadeloupe are a good team, very physical, with three or four really talented individuals who can cause problems. So we’ll need to be disciplined and structured, and we need individuals to step up and perform. This is not going to be an easy game. There are no easy games, so we have to be strong, resilient, and mentally strong and make sure we put in the work that gets us the win," McClaren ended.