Despite not putting pen to paper on a new contract as yet, Stephen Hart is set to stay on as coach of the T&T Soca Warriors team for a long time to come. This was the assurance given by T&T Football Association (T&TFA) president Raymond Tim Kee while speaking at a media conference at the VIP Lounge, Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on Friday.
A former coach of the Canada national team, Hart signed a two-year deal to coach the Soca Warriors in 2013 and in his first tournament less than a month in charge he led the team to the quarterfinal stage of the Concacaf Gold Cup before losing 1-0 to eventual winner Mexico. At his last tournament, also at the Gold Cup in July, he again guided the T&T team to the quarterfinal round before bowing out to Panama, on sudden-death penalty-kicks after a 1-1 draw.
Overall, the T&T coach who is currently on vacation with his family in Canada, has been at the helm of the national team for 25 matches, winning 12 and losing nine with four ending in drawn results. However, since being appointed, Hart’s tenure has been blighted by a feud involving Minister of Sports and former national defender Brent Sancho and Tim Kee which sometimes left the San Fernando-born coach and his part-time technical staff without salaries for months.
Despite the growing frustrations, Hart has been given a very high passing grade by many, and while his current contract ended following the Gold Cup and the T&TFA continues to struggle to generate funding, Tim Kee is certain that the T&T born coach will be staying on for a very long time.
Questioned on if Hart had already signed a new contract, Tim Kee said everything was being put in place for the out of contract coach to do so on his return home from Canada, but he did not want to speak much about it until Hart was present as a form of respect. “I’m not in the habit of speaking about someone’s contract or salary terms when they are not present, so I will prefer to discuss it more at another media briefing when Hart is present,” the T&TFA boss said.
And even though the coach is yet to officially sign a new deal, national goalkeeper Jan-Michael Williams believes he is the right man to take the team where it wants to go. Commenting on the impact on the team by Hart, the T&T goalkeeper said the results under the coach are there to be seen by all. He said, “When coach Hart came on board, it was the first time since 2000 we had qualified for the knockout round of the Gold Cup.
“I think what he has, that other coaches did not have in the past, is that he has that international experience and pedigree, having coached the likes of Canada, and he was born right here, so he actually knows the culture and the people of T&T very well. “He knows his players very well also. He knows when the guys are joking around, how to push us and how to get into our brains and I am really excited going into this 2018 Russia World Cup campaign.”