KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC) – Jamaica’s football chief, Captain Horace Burrell, says results of World Cup Qualifying matches were too poor for Theodore Whitmore to stay on as coach of the Reggae Boyz for the rest of the Brazil 2014 campaign. Whitmore announced his intention to step-down following Jamaica’s two-nil loss to Honduras Tuesday night, their fourth straight defeat in six games.
“The federation felt strongly about the poor results, which we have experienced over the past six games. We felt that certainly they were not good enough,” said Captain Burrell, president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF).
“A coach’s tenure depends on the results.”
Whitmore became the third Jamaica coach to be summoned to a meeting by Burrell and asked to resign following defeat at the hands of the Central American team.
René Simoes suffered the same fate on his second stint in 2008 and Clovis de Oliveira in 2001.
“Coach Whitmore has gained tremendous experience and there are other areas in which that experience can be used,” said the JFF president.
“But as it relates to the Reggae Boyz team coach, Whitmore has resigned as the head coach and will resign from that unit”.
The poor results have put Jamaica on the brink of elimination although the team still cling to an unlikely mathematical chance of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The Jamaicans have four matches remaining in the final qualification round and a new head coach is expected to be announced soon.
“You will understand that because of the suddenness, we will in the next few days take a decision as far as that (new coach) is concerned,” Captain Burrell explained.