Future Is Bright For My Team – T&T Coach

Even Pellerud, coach of the Trinidad and Tobago U-17 women’s football team, is  anticipating a good future for the squad who featured at the current FIFA Under-17  Women’s World Cup.

The 57-year-old Norwegian, commenting on the team’s Group “A’ display against reigning  champs North Korea, Nigeria and Chile, noted; “I’m sure that you all are very pleased  with the team’s performance overall, three very good performances.

“We competed very well with all three teams,” he said. “We certainly have proved  ourselves among the big guns in women’s football. Most of my players were able to perform  at their best.

“I hope they have created a good foundation for a great future,” Pellerud added. “The  next version of the Under-17 (World Cup) is in 2012 with a lot of these players involved.

“We’ll need to work a lot with the various kids. Some players have really raised their  level and can cope with pressure.”

The former Norway and Canada coach said that he was hopeful that the Trinidad and Tobago  team would have advanced to the knockout phase, but that did not materialise.

However, he stated: “I hope the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation, TFF seriously  considers the future of this generation. I hope that we are competitive in all age  groups, in both genres. It’s all about plans, and strategies, and being willing to do the  right things.”

He admitted that the players were obviously disappointed following their 1-0 loss to  North Korea in Couva on September 12, which resulted in the squad’s failure to progress  past the group stage.

“We had really big hopes but we weren’t good enough to beat North Korea,” he revealed.  “The worst possible start, the goal, killed the momentum of the game very early.