Head Coach Leo Beenhakker has dropped Anthony Rougier from his list of 24 players to represent Trinidad and Tobago at the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany, and included Evans Wise.
Beenhakker has also invited German-based winger Evans Wise to join the team in Manchester, England next week, in the event that Cornell Glen does not recover from a hamstring injury."I had a very long conversation with Evans Wise and he will come over to England to be involved in the team preparations until the end of the camp in Austria. I told him very clearly that it's a 50-50 situation because if Cornell is fit then I have to send him (Wise) home and then if Cornell is not fit, then I have the bad job to release him from the squad," Beenhakker explained yesterday.
"I will prepare him (Wise) the same as the other guys. Normally, you don't make six changes in a match like last night (versus Peru at the Hasely Crawford Stadium), but as I said before, I don't only have to prepare 11 guys but instead the entire squad, because if one player gets injured before we play Sweden then the other has to step in," he said.
As indicated last month when he named his provisional squad, one player would be released to make it a 23-man roster for the World Cup. Following Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Peru, Beenhakker grudgingly announced the lone player to be left out is experienced utility player Rougier.
Beenhakker had invited Rougier back into the national team for a training camp in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in January and subsequently named him on the squad ahead of the Peru match.
The Dutchman said he had the hard task of letting Rougier go and only did so after a lengthy discussion with the player.
"The guy (Rougier) worked fantastically and he did everything he had to do to try and make it and in the end I had to make a decision. I am sorry, but it was not enough because he showed me he is a great professional and a great guy, but he was not enough in terms of the conditions to make the team," Beenhakker told Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation media officer Shaun Fuentes.
The coach stressed he did not enjoy the part of having to make the latest decision before the team depart for England tomorrow, but he had no choice in the matter.
"This is always the weird part of my profession because you have to make decisions like these just by your head, but you are also human and it's not easy to send a guy home like Anthony who I know has worked hard for the past two weeks. You also have an emotional relationship with your players, but that's part of the job," Beenhakker added.
Now that he has made his decision, Beenhakker will concentrate on getting his players fit and has stated he will afford Glen every chance to recover from his injury and claim his place. Glen was in the stand when T&T drew with Peru.
"We have the 23 players now, but we also have the Cornell Glen situation. On one side, I promised him that he can take his time to recover but, obviously, with the team preparation in mind...on one side I promised him that he can take his time and I don't want to put pressure by giving him a deadline. He will miss a big part of team preparation but he will work everyday with the physiotherapist and I will give him a fair chance," stated Beenhakker.
T&T WORLD CUP SQUAD:
Kelvin Jack (Dundee), Shaka Hislop (West Ham United), Clayton Ince (Coventry City); Dennis Lawrence (Wrexham) Cyd Gray (San Juan Jabloteh), Marvin Andrews (Glasgow Rangers), Brent Sancho (Gillingham), Ian Cox (Gillingham), Atiba Charles (W Connection), Avery John (New England Revolution); Silvio Spann (unattached), Chris Birchall (Port Vale), Aurtis Whitley (Jabloteh), Evans Wise (Waldhof Mannheim), Anthony Wolfe (Jabloteh), Densill Theobald (Falkirk), Carlos Edwards (Luton Town), Dwight Yorke (Sydney FC), Russell Latapy (Falkirk); Stern John (Coventry City), Kenwyne Jones (Southampton FC), Collin Samuel (Dundee United), Jason Scotland (St Johnstone), Cornell Glen (LA Galaxy).
