Related items

• McClaren happy with spirit, energy of players heading into first game of 2024-25 Nations League- “It’s been great”

  Head coach of the Jamaica Men’s National Football Team, commonly referred to as the “Reggae Boyz,” Steve McClaren, spoke glowingly of his squad’s energy and enthusiasm ahead of their 2024-25 CONCACAF Nations League opener against Cuba at the National Stadium in Kingston on Friday.

  McClaren, who was most recently part of Manchester United as a first team coach, was hired by Jamaica in July to replace Heimir Hallgrimsson, who has since taken up the role as manager of the Republic of Ireland.

  The 63-year-old former Newcastle United and FC Twente coach will open his stint as manager of a Reggae Boyz unit who finished third in last season’s Nations League under Hallgrimsson, their best ever finish in the competition.

  “Looking forward to it,” McClaren said in a pre-match press conference on Thursday.

  “It’s been a long build-up since I first came over to Jamaica,” he added.

  One thing that McClaren spoke glowingly of about his players is the energy and spirit he’s seen amongst the group ahead of Friday’s game, an important factor in any winning unit.

  “It was nice to get into camp, meet the players, get on the grass and lose my voice from shouting too much. It’s been great. From the first day the players came in, it’s been great energy and spirit amongst them. They’ve shown that on the training field and we need to transfer what we’ve done this week onto the field tomorrow to get a result against Cuba,” he said.

  Ahead of his first game in charge of the Reggae Boyz at home, McClaren, despite his 23 years of managerial experience, is feeling the nerves as is customary with anyone starting a new job in any profession.

  “Always. I like that. It means you’re ready for the game. That’s what football is all about, doesn’t matter what level. When you play, you don’t quite know what’s going to happen. It’s football,” he said.

  “We can control the controllable which we’ve tried to do. We just have to keep things simple. I’m going to concentrate tomorrow on the performance. If we get the performance from the players, normally you get the win,” he added.

  When questioned about the style of coaching fans can expect to see from him going forward, apart from jokingly saying a “winning” coach, McClaren emphasized a focus on the basics and building on what has been done over the last two years.

  “I’m quite a flexible, adaptable coach. I like the fundamentals. I like the basics. I like people knowing and doing their jobs, working hard, having a good attitude and being hard to beat. I think that’s the platform of all performances,” he said.

  “If you’re easy to beat, too stretched and can’t defend, you don’t win football matches. That is what the team have developed over the last two years and I like that. It gives us a platform. We need to build from that platform now,” he added.

   

   

• Malone Bird’s Boys U-11 Singles run ends in round of 16 at Pan American U-11 and U-13 Championships

  Jamaica’s Malone Bird made it all the way to the round of 16 in the Boys U-11 Singles category at the Pan American U-11 and U-13 Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic last week.

  Bird, after getting through the preliminary group phase, made it through to the round of 16 thanks to a straight-sets win over Puerto Rico’s Caleb Portalatino (11-6, 11-6, 11-9).

  His tournament than came to an end after suffering a straight-sets loss (11-6, 11-5, 11-6) at the hands of Brazil’s Joao Ribeiro who went on to lose in the quarterfinals.

  The whole thing was won by the USA’s Chirag Pradhan who defeated his countryman Jacob Kordus by three sets to two.

  Jamaica also failed to advance from the first round of the U-11 Boys’ doubles as Malone and Shacoil Bird lost in straight-sets to Argentina 11-7, 11-6, 13-11.

  President of the Jamaica Table Tennis Association, Ingrid Graham, expressed joy at the performance of the brothers at the tournament.

  “Win or lose, they are young and this is priceless exposure for the future. Very close matches and they are right there,” she said.

  She also expressed gratitude to a number of sponsors that made it possible for the boys to represent the country in the Dominican Republic.

  “We would like to express thanks to the SDF, JOA, OSIL, Sterling Travel, Friends of Table Tennis, Growth Sport and Western Sports for their support to make this possible for these young men to attend these games,” she said.

• Malone Bird through to second stage of Boys’ U-11 Singles at Pan American U-11 and U-13 Championships

  Jamaica’s Malone Bird successfully made it through to the second stage of the Boys’ U11 Singles competition at the Pan American Under 11 and Under 13 Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Wednesday.

  Bird made it through the group phase after securing one win and one loss in his two matches on Wednesday.

  After suffering a straight-set loss at the hands of Canada’s Daniel Liang (11-4, 11-9, 11-7) in his first game, he rebounded with a four-set win over Guatemala’s Omar Ixcaragua.

  Bird won the first two sets 11-7 and 11-8 before Ixcaragua tried to mount a comeback with an 11-4 third set victory before the Jamaican shut the door with an 11-6 win in the fourth set.

  Unfortunately, the second half of the Bird brothers, Shacoil, didn’t have the same success and failed to advance to the next phase after suffering a pair of straight set losses to Brazil’s Joao Ribeiro (11-7, 11-3, 11-7) and Ecuador’s Juan Gonzalez (11-9, 11-6, 11-1).

  The draw for the second phase of the singles will be held on Friday. The Bird brothers will also take on Argentina in doubles on Friday.