Blaine: Girlz being influenced by outside forces

Senior women’s football head coach Vin Blaine has revealed that he will make a decision on his future very soon after reports surfaced this week that the Reggae Girlz have submitted a letter to the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) requesting that he be replaced.

Blaine has pointed to people who he described as “strong outside influencers” who have been waging a campaign to get him out of his job. He said this campaign against him started as soon as he was appointed back in December, and that these outside influences have pushed the Girlz to this type of action.

In light of this recent development, he admits it will be very difficult to continue working with the group going forward. Nevertheless, he says he will speak with the JFF heads before making a decision on his future.

“Yes, players have been calling for my resignation, led by a senior player. She is the one who sent the letter to the federation. Signed by herself and 19 other players. I am not surprised because this has nothing to do with football. This has to do with people hanging around the team, who were calling for my head before we even played a game,” he said.

Blaine has not made his mind up yet on whether he should walk away but he revealed that a decision will be made in the coming weeks. “I wouldn’t say that (intend to resign). But this nonsense I do not want to be a part of. But I am going to first have a discussion with the general secretary and president. This situation will strain our (player-coach) relationship. How can you coach people who don’t want to play for you? That is a recipe for failure. My decision will be made over the next few weeks,” he stated.

UNWARRANTED CONCERNS

He said the concerns expressed to the federation are unwarranted but he is pleased to have seen the Girlz through to the final stage of qualifying.

“My real interest is Jamaican football. The aim is to qualify for the World Cup and I have got rid of the pressure they put on me to get by the first round, which I did in good style. They are now making a move to get rid of me for whatever reason.

“The 18-point concerns in the letter regards coaching, communication and organisation. But I did what I was supposed to do by winning all the games and qualifying for the final round. People were writing and bombarding the federation with messages of ‘Vin Out’.

“From day one it has been a very toxic environment for me. But I managed the situation because I didn’t want to disrupt the flow of the team. But it is now manifesting itself in what these girls are trying to do. I enjoyed winning the four games and what we set out to achieve. But I was distracted by the antics which I tried to deal with in a professional way,” he said.

Blaine, a long-standing national women’s coach at all levels for more than a decade, resigned as national women’s coach in 2017. But after the recent sudden removal of previous coach, Hubert Busby Jr, he was reappointed as interim coach to see the senior women’s team through to the 2023 finals in Australia and New Zealand. He has led the Girlz to four straight victories in Group C of the Concacaf women’s qualifying, scoring 24 goals and conceding just two.

Efforts to get a response from the federation yesterday were unsuccessful.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com