Simpson hoping national players can create pro mentality
REGGAE BOYZ team manager Roy Simpson says that the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is hoping to use the current crop of local national invitees to improve the general professionalism among players in their respective clubs.
Simpson said that when players are on national duty, they are exposed to the professional way of doing things, and the JFF wants these players to go back to their clubs and maintain the same standards.
“We want each player to understand they are ambassadors even when they are here (Jamaica), not just when they travel. When they go back to their respective clubs, they must bring back whatever they learn and make it contagious,” he said
“We do not expect when a player goes back to his club, he does not attend training, he is late for training and does not meet his obligations. It can’t be a culture for the national team and a different one for the clubs.
“The common thread must be your deportment, punctuality, your obligations, and behaviour. It has to be a way of life.
PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENT
“Too often, they come to us and go back to the clubs and when they get back, they return to the old bad habits,” he commented.. He believes that their behaviour can influence young, aspiring national players in the clubs and make them more prepared for a professional environment “You want other players who have not been called to see how they operate and know what we want outside of football. Professionalism is not just how you play. It’s wider than that. So this is the culture we want national players to take back to the clubs,” Simpson added. The JFF intends to host a meeting with the clubs very soon to inform them of the JFF’s expectations with regard to this new initiative. “The current players, we monitor them. We communicate and find out (whether there’s a problem) if we don’t see a player. “We want to know what the issues are with the players and clubs and let them know what we are looking for. We also want the communities to monitor them (players), too, because whatever they do off the field is what they will do on it,” he said.