KINGSTON, Jamaica – Interim head coach Paul Hall says molding Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz into a global force could take as long as a decade and has urged patience with the rebuilding project while underscoring the importance of strategic planning.
Speaking in the wake of the country’s failed bid to reach another FIFA World Cup, Hall said a long-term plan was critical, as short-term success would only conceal existing deficiencies in the squad.
Already eliminated from contention for this year’s World Cup in Qatar, Jamaica wrapped up their qualifying campaign with a 2-1 win over Honduras at the National Stadium here Wednesday night to seal only their second victory of the 14-match CONCACAF group.
“It was important for everybody [to get the win]. It was important for me, but everybody was hanging on to this winning thing, and all that winning was good. Still, it needs to be consistent, and … winning can paper over many cracks that are already there,” said the former Jamaica international.
“So I want everybody to try to be patient with this team because it is a ten-year plan. You’ll see the fruition consistently after five, six, and seven years.
“Winning [against Honduras] was excellent, but we need to make sure we’re planning for the future, and we’re doing that.”
Hall, currently a development coach at English Championship side Queen’s Park Rangers, was appointed to the helm following the sacking of Theodore Whitmore last December, as Jamaica languished near the bottom of the standings.
However, Hall lost his first three games back in January/February but experienced somewhat of a turnaround last week in the final three games of the campaign, drawing 1-1 with El Salvador, losing 4-0 to table-topping Canada before beating Honduras 2-1.
The 49-year-old, who played for Portsmouth, Coventry City, and Chesterfield during a 21-year professional career, said he believed he was the right person to take Jamaica through the rebuilding process.
“I want to lay the foundation. Some good things are happening in the future for Jamaica football, and I want to be a part of that,” he stressed.
“I feel I’m the person to do that along with the people I’ve been working with. We’ve had that structured training session, and you can see it on the pitch that the players are trying to play a brand of football that is attractive to look at.
“We’ve got some outstanding players, and I want to make competition for places. I must stick around for that, and I’ve got a ten-year plan. I don’t know if anybody has ever had a ten-year plan for Jamaica.”
Jamaica’s only qualification for a World Cup came in 1998 under Brazilian head coach Renê Simões when Hall featured in a squad with Ricardo Gardner, Ian Goodison, Deon Burton, and Whitmore.
Football authorities called up many England-born professionals to boost their squad for the just-concluded campaign, but the move failed to bear fruit.
Hall said careful strategic planning was required to take the vision forward.
“If you don’t plan, then you plan to get there by accident, so why don’t we try and get there with a plan and then measure that,” he explained.
“Then every year see how it’s going, measure it [again] after three years, and try with succession planning. I’ve given some boys their debuts because I want to get them to take that back to the Under-20s, take that experience back so we can make them better as well.
“It’s all planned out. We’ve just got to make sure that we follow it.”
The Reggae Boyz finished sixth in the eight-team qualifying campaign with 11 points from two wins, five draws, and seven defeats.
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