Fitness, gelling non-issues as Golden Jags begin training

Guyana’s senior men’s national football team, the Golden Jaguars are exactly one week away from competing on one of the biggest stages yet, with the FIFA Series competition being described as a historic opportunity.
The team will play two games in Saudi Arabia next week, during FIFA’s March international window.
While the local players have been in competition mode with their respective KFC Elite League Clubs since February, the national team’s preparation officially began on Monday last.
Citing the players’ participation in the League, Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz admitted that not much was required in the fitness arena for the Golden Jags’ training.
“Well, the fact that the guys are in season, we did not have to do any fitness training. We’ve just focused on technical and tactical work and getting them to play a bit of how we would approach the game. Of course, this is just part of the squad, the rest of the squad joins us in the UK. But we’re accustomed now, preparing like this. So, this five days before we meet the rest of the crew is very important,” Shabazz explained.

Quizzed on how he intends to bridge the gap between local and foreign-based players’ preparation, Shabazz related that more intense training locally has been a solution.
“Well, because the players on the national team find it very easy in the Elite League, they’re not challenged by the other players. Especially when you have a bunch of them in one team, like in GDF or Slingerz right. We’ve got to force them to be more intense in the training, to take them out of their comfort zone,” the Head Coach revealed.
He went on to add, “So, sometimes we play five versus three or three versus two, to give that overload against them ,so they have to work a little hard. But this is the concern, that the players overseas [are] in a more intense and competitive environment. We’re trying to fix that here, it’s a work in progress, but we’re still a little way off, in terms of the level of intensity.”
With the national team jetting off to the UK on Saturday night and spending approximately two days travelling to the Middle East, the full team will only be together for two days before their first game on March 21.
The Head Coach related that there were bigger concerns than gelling the team.
Shabazz enlightened, “Gelling them is not a problem, the team is gelled. We have a full unit; they’re no local and overseas, no international and home, everybody is Guyana. I don’t want to make it sound like a political cliché, but this crew really represents one Guyana.
“So, it’s not really a matter of gelling, it’s a matter of acclimatising to the conditions in Saudi Arabia. And also, in the two days that we have together to prepare against a high-level opponent,” the Golden Jags boss went on to add.
Guyana are in Saudi Arabia Group A of the FIFA Series and will take on Cape Verde on March 21, after which they will battle Cambodia on March 26.