New boy Kemar Roofe settling into the fold
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras — New Reggae Boy Kemar Roofe says he’s finally settling in with his new international teammates and is now enjoying his football while trying to help the team climb up the ladder and back into contention.
Roofe, who plays as a striker, winger or attacking midfielder for his Scottish club, Rangers, believes there’s enough quality in a group beginning to gel which is an indication that before long the desired results will fall into place.
“I’ve played three games now, started two and come on one. I’m starting to get more comfortable, it’s always difficult joining a new team and new players, new staff, a new style of play, but it’s a bit more difficult at the international level than at club level because at club level you can train with the team more to understand players and get to understand them quicker, but at the international level, it’s all about games. You have no training sessions to actually get to know your teammates and their style of play, so that’s why it’s more challenging,” Roofe told the media.
But despite those sometimes unsettling realities, the 28-year-old is firm in his view that there were enough positives from the last game against Canada on Sunday to spur the team forward and off the foot of the table and up the points standings.
“I’m settled in now, I’m comfortable and I’m happy I’m here and enjoying it, and obviously we need more points, we need wins and I’m confident that will come, it’s just a matter of time.”
Roofe made his debut against Panama at the National Stadium in September, a game in which the Reggae Boyz band served up a horror show which triggered a backlash from fans for the manner in which they surrendered in the 0-3 defeat.
He came off the bench in the 0-2 loss to the United States last Thursday but played from the first whistle against Canada.
But the former Leeds United frontman believes things are now falling into place for the Boyz to get on a positive run for one of the qualifying places.
“Yeah, we’re struggling for points and obviously that’s the only thing that people care about; it’s the points, where we are on the table, but I think we are showing signs of togetherness, especially in the last game against Canada. We showed good signs and we were unfortunate not to win the game.
“Personally, I come away from the game happy because of the way we performed, but also disappointed, personally, because of what I could have and should have scored, so I’m a bit disappointed with that, but we showed good signs, good togetherness, but it’s also difficult because the team keeps changing and there’s not a lot of consistency. We don’t get to train often, so all the different rules like COVID, some players can’t travel for personal reasons and because of injuries, so it’s difficult for the management, the coaching staff to be able to get a group of players on a consistent basis and work with them,” he continued.
Roofe and his teammates are firmly planted at the foot of the table with two points. Mexico lead with 11 points, followed by the US and Panama on eight, Canada and Costa Rica six, El Salvador five and Honduras on three points.
Heading into yesterday’s game here against Honduras at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano, Roofe noted that all the Boyz needed was to add a bit more quality in the final third to create and finish their chances.