'Now we are building the team'

• Montesso not overly concerned about Reggae Boyz losing run

Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

Assistant Reggae Boyz coach Alfredo Montesso says he is not overly concerned with the Reggae Boyz current run of wretched form, as the team's main focus is on preparing for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers which get under way in the latter part of next year.

The Boyz have lost their last four games on the trot, beginning with a 0-2 defeat to the United States in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, followed by losses to China (1-0), Ecuador (5-2) and Colombia (2-0).

"The one concern that we have in the four matches we lost so far is the loss to Ecuador, and that is because of the way that we lost. We have to understand that now we are building the team, Theodore (Whitmore) is getting some new players now, we discussed bringing some players from England to change the team a little bit," Montesso told The Gleaner.

Keeping focus

"We never got back the team that we played the Gold Cup with because of injuries and some new players that we brought in to increase the volume of players, but the reality that we have to have in mind is that our goal is the World Cup qualifying, so we have to do all our testing right now."

The Reggae Boyz will kick off their WCQ campaign on September 6 and they have been paired against the United States, Guatemala and the Group F winners, which is likely to be between Antigua and Barbuda and Haiti, who are currently tied on nine points at the top of the group.

Jamaica, currently ranked 45th, will next be in action when they face Honduras on Tuesday, October 11 and have added a number of overseas players to the squad for the fixture. Among them are Bristol City's Marvin Elliot, Brentford's Marcus Bean and Chesterfield's Nathan Smith, all England-based.

"We cannot use the qualifiers to test players or build a team, these hard games Columbia, Ecuador and Honduras, who we will play soon, will give us the opportunity to build the team. The morale of the team is, of course, also very important so we will be seriously looking to win and play better. But the most important thing is building the team for 2014."