By AINSLEY WALTERS, Staff ReporterJAMAICA FOOTBALL FEDERATION (JFF) president Crenston Boxhill has given technical director Carl Brown the green light following last Wednesday's drawn friendly international against Honduras at the National Stadium.
After watching Honduras rally for a 2-2 draw, Boxhill complimented Jamaica on their good first-half display, saying their second-half lead was wiped out after coach Carl Brown was forced to substitute injured players.
"For the second half, when the coach made the changes, the team lost its shape and weren't as good as the first half," he explained. "Talking to the technical director, the changes had to be made and secondly he wanted to see the depth of his team.
"I'm not one of those persons criticising the changes, they had to be made," the JFF boss added.
Boxhill's thumbs-up for Brown comes after Peter Cargill, a long-time assistant national coach, was axed from the technical staff following the failure of the national Under-23s to qualify for this summer's Olympic Games in Athens.
"I don't want the Peter (Cargill) thing to be seen in isolation," said Boxhill. "We said from day one, as stated in our manifesto, we would be assessing each sector in detail.
Long-term goals
"We're assessing technical staff and after a game, even if a team doesn't advance, if we feel the right person is in the job, that's how it will stay", he explained.
"Based on our manifesto, we want to put the best machinery in place to achieve our long-term goals. In a process like that, we'll have all kinds of movements."
However, Boxhill believes targets must be set for the coaching staff.
"Coaches must be employed with specific objectives and goals," he said. "Therefore, you have the criteria by which coaches can be assessed," he pointed out.
Dismissing persistent rumours that the JFF had invited an Argentinian coach to watch the Boyz in action against Honduras, Boxhill said the allegation was "the furthest thing from the truth".
"That I can categorically deny," he said. "I know of no such thing."
Significantly improved
Meanwhile, Boxhill said accountability was "significantly improved" at the stadium's turnstiles for the Honduras game.
Following a February 18 friendly against Uruguay at the venue, the first international game staged by the new JFF administration, press officer Earl Bailey admitted to what he described as a "breakdown in security" at the bleachers gates, resulting in what was reportedly a ticket recycling scam amounting to approximately $4m.
"I wouldn't say all the hitches were removed but reduced significantly," said Boxhill, who's hardly five months on the job after toppling Captain Horace Burrell as head of the JFF last November.
"Things were more organised with more JFF personnel on the ground," he added, explaining final figures from the game should be ready by today.
"It's taking a little longer but as soon as everything is finalised, hopefully by tomorrow, we'll make it public," he said.
The JFF president said he expected greater return at the gate but pointed out that the crowd at last week's game was noticeably smaller than that which turned out to see Manchester United's Diego Forlan playing against the Reggae Boyz in February.
"Without quoting numbers, I would expect more returns...collecting from each person," he figured. "However, it must be noted this crowd was smaller than Uruguay but in terms of monitoring the gates, the returns should be better."
