NEWLY appointed head coach of the National Under-20 team, Collie Hercules, believes that his side will give a good account of themselves in Suriname when they attempt to gain the final berth in the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship. Guyana along with host Suriname and the Netherlands will battle each other from February 19 to 23 at the Andre Kamperveen Stadium in Paramaribo and Hercules is of the opinion that his charges will not be overwhelmed by the must-win situation and will give their all.
“The good thing is the fellas all understand the situation that we are in and that’s one of the most important thing because it will call for a lot of concentration from the players,” said Hercules.
The team is at present encamped at the Watooka House in Linden, where they have had several matches, recently defeating Winners Connection 5-1, which coach Hercules says was very helpful for his side and more so his staff, to properly assess the players and their performance.
“Moving the camp to Linden will do us well in several areas and will work well for the players and the staff because in Georgetown there’s always a problem with facilities and so on, while in linden we will have no such problems. Secondly, it will help the players to focus a bit more, being away from the city,” the National U-20 coach said.
Guyana lost 2-0 to eventual group winners Jamaica at the Guyana National Stadium, and asked to compare the sides then and now, Hercules stated that “we can’t do that right now because, we have a few new players and I think now the focus of the players is different.
“They are now in a position where having to win every game and playing also knowing that the other teams they are going against have the same aim and focus as they, so no, it’s just for them to execute what we are teaching”
This is the first time Hercules will be fully in charge of a national unit, having served as the assistant to National coach Wayne ‘Wiggy’ Dover with the senior team during their run in the Digicel Caribbean Cup.
Hercules, once an accomplished national player, earning the alias ‘Hitman’ for his heroics, believes that this is just a stepping stone in his tenure as National coach and sees it all as a learning process.
“I’ve learnt a lot working with the National coach with the seniors and so far it’s going good for me with the Under-20s. I know I’m placed at a point in time with the team whereby we have to win all of our matches in Suriname, which is not going to be an easy task, but I trust with the help of my staff and more so the proper execution by the players, we will all be successful,” the former national striker said.
Guyana will begin their campaign against Bermuda  this Wednesday and will face Suriname on  January 21 and the Netherlands on  January 23.
The four teams will all be looking to join automatic North American qualifiers Canada, Mexico and the United States, hosts Guatemala along with Central American qualifiers, Honduras, Panama and El Salvador and  fellow Caribbean qualifiers Cuba, Jamaica, Guadeloupe and Trinidad for the CONCACAF championship finals April 3-17.
Four teams from the CONCACAF region will qualify for the Under-20 World Cup to be held in Colombia July 20 – August 20.