Steve McClaren
August 17, 2024
The challenging journey ahead for Mr Steve McClaren
New Jamaica Reggae Boyz Head Coach Mr Steve McClaren, seemingly a good communicator, appears to have said all the right things since his appointment late last month.
Of course, the 63-year-old’s first big test will come on September 6 when the Reggae Boyz’s Concacaf Nations League campaign begins against Cuba at the National Stadium in Jamaica.
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Mr McClaren’s much more important test comes next June when Concacaf qualifiers resume for the 2026 Fifa World Cup to be staged in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
And, as is well established, World Cup qualification is the reason Mr McClaren — who has coached at the highest levels in football, including the England national team — was hired in the first place.
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His first-hand knowledge of top England-based footballers eligible to play for Jamaica by virtue of ancestry is a big advantage.
In that regard, Mr McClaren has confirmed contact with the hugely talented attacker Mr Mason Greenwood who, reports suggest, was being courted by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) for some time.
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Mr Greenwood has represented England but is now apparently off the radar in that country following allegations of attempted rape and assault.
He was arrested in January 2022 and subsequently charged. However the case was later dropped because of what the prosecution said was the withdrawal of key witnesses and “new” information which had emerged.
A rising star for Manchester United up to the time of the damaging allegations, Mr Greenwood was loaned out to Spanish club Getafe last season. He is to now play in France after being recently sold by Manchester United to top French club Olympique Marseille on a five-year deal.
If we understand Mr McClaren correctly, he has already spoken to Mr Greenwood regarding the possibility of playing for Jamaica and is committed to continuing pursuit of the player.
“We had a little conversation,” Mr McClaren was recently reported by this newspaper as saying. “We’ve had a conversation since, and what I want to do is like I do with everybody… is to go and meet them, have a conversation with them, and find out the reality of the situation and whether they actually want to come all the way here to play for Jamaica,” he added.
The new coach is also stressing “commitment” in reference to wooing another highly talented England-based professional, Mr Leon Bailey — born and nurtured in Kingston — who has fallen out with the Jamaican football establishment for reasons that are not all entirely clear.
“He’s a damn good player, I know that,” the new national senior men’s coach has said of Mr Bailey. “You need good players and you need them to commit — that’s the important thing. So, conversations with all these [eligible] players is the most important thing on the agenda for me… Who is committed to this dream, for this vision? Who wants to play in a World Cup?” he added.
There can be no gainsaying, no discounting this matter of player commitment to the Jamaican cause.
Crucially, Mr McClaren knows from long experience that he will have to make hard choices that won’t always be popular.
We wish him all the best as he presses forward.
