Taking too long!
‘Disappointed’ Whitmore set for contract talks with JFF next week
Jamaica senior men’s football team head coach Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore said the handling of his contract situation by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has been “very disappointing”. But, he is hoping the situation can be resolved as quickly as possible so that he can focus fully on his job with the national team. Whitmore’s contract with the Federation as interim coach ended last September. However, the impasse between the coach and the JFF on his contractual agreement has left the two parties at a standstill, with the coach refusing to accept the proposed offer. But he is hopeful that everything will be sorted out when they meet to iron out the issues next week.
VERY DISAPPOINTED
“It has been very, very, very disappointing. We want to look at a number of games, but there are a lot of things that need to be sorted out and time is going. So the quicker we get these things over with, the better it will be for us.
“Everything is left in the balance now ... . Whether you like it or not, September is right around the corner, so we need to start preparing (for the CONCACAF League of Nations). We need to get the ball rolling, because contrary to what people believe, we do not have a lot of time,” he said.
Although he did not want to go into much detail, Whitmore admitted that he is not willing to sign the contract that was presented to him, and is looking for the JFF to make an improved offer when they meet next week for talks.
“They have given me a contract, which I have said is yet to sign. We haven’t spoken on it since November, but I got a call from the president (recently) that we will meet sometime next week, so I am waiting to see what will happen.
“But this is something we should have got out the way a long time ago, so I can’t say (when it will be concluded). I will just have to wait until next week comes. But we need to get this going, because we can’t be sitting lingering and wasting time. We need to get it going so we can focus on the team fully,” he said.