Cummings ready to shine in DCC

In spite of of the euphoria surrounding his recent triumph with United States Major League Soccer (MLS) club Colorado Rapids, Reggae Boy Omar Cummings is ready to get right back to work as he shifts his attention to the Digicel Caribbean Cup (DCC).

Cummings' Rapids defeated FC Dallas 2-1 in the MLS Cup final on Sunday, claiming a first-ever title for the club and sparking wild celebrations in Denver. However, having joined up with the national team on Tuesday, he will miss the parade, but the striker has no major issues with that as he is now focused on claiming the regional trophy. Despite not scoring in the final, Cummings was inspirational for the Rapids this season, scoring a total of 14 goals and assisting on a few as well.

"It's a great feeling but it was short, knowing that I had the Digicel Caribbean Cup, knowing that I had a flight to Jamaica the next day, I was like okay, celebrate for a little bit, put it in the back of your mind now 'cause you have to get ready for the Digicel Caribbean Cup," Cummings told The Gleaner.

Muscle strain

However, after joining up with the team on Tuesday, the forward could only watch from the bench sidelined by a muscle strain picked up in Sunday's final. The speedy striker expects that with rest and treatment he will be fully fit in time for the start of the tournament.

"I picked up a slight muscle strain in the dying moments of the game, hopefully it will be just a couple days before I recover. I'll have some time off from practice, some treatment, and I should be ready for the start of the tournament," he said.

Cummings is one of six MLS players in the national squad now in Martinique for the DCC, the others include Dane Richards (New York Red Bull), Shaun Francis (Columbus Crew), Shavar Thomas (Kansas City Wizards), Ryan Johnson (San Jose Earthquakes and Lovel Palmer (Houston Dynamos). The number of MLS players in the national squad speaks to a steady improvement in the quality of the US league, a fact which national coach Theodore Whitmore admits is a boost for the national programme.

"It's improving all the time, especially bringing back the reserve league. Next year I think more players will get a chance to develop. But it gets better every year, better players coming in, you see the Henrys, the Beckhams coming in. For his part, Cummings agrees and expects this to continue being the case for years to come," Whitmore said.

"Even American players still want to play in the MLS instead of opting to go to Europe, some of the better ones, so it keeps improving ever year and hopefully we will continue to see it grow."