Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

BROWN

MANY-TIME national football coach Carl Brown officially resumed duties at the helm yesterday and will fill the position of interim coach for the next three months, that is while the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) continues its search for a new technical director.

Brown, who last coached the team in 2004 - when he was sacked along with then technical director, Sebastiao Lazaroni after a failed World Cup qualification campaign, accepted the JFF's invitation following the resignation of Wendell Downswell.

The stint as national coach will be the fifth one for the former national player. However, he has strongly hinted that this will be the final one as he is now contemplating retirement by the end of the year.

"I really wanted to end (national coaching) this year. I had decided to make an announcement that this would be the final year that I would make myself available for national duties," Brown said at a press conference at the JFF headquarters in New Kingston, yesterday.

"I think that the time has come after 23 years as a national coach and 10 years as a national player. I believe the time had come for me to focus on other things but I have never turned down an invitation to serve," he said.

Tough decision

Brown, who represented the country as a national player between 1970 and 1980, stated that it was tough decision to move away from Premier League club Boys' Town and the development that he has seen take place there, but for now, he said, he will focus his attention on getting the national team back to winning form.

" My goal right now is to get them back in winning mode, that is what the public is asking for," Brown said.

"It is going to be tough, we have two upcoming friendlies and we need to get good results. We also need to get to at least to the final round of the Digicel qualifiers that is my immediate aim for football," he added.

In the interim, the JFF will continue its search for a technical director but, according to JFF president Crenston Boxhill this will not be completed until the federation is "absolutely certain" of the resources available.

"The federation will only be able to contract the services of an international coach when we are confident that the resources are not only available but reliably so," Boxhill said.

"However, our discussions are continuing and we remain positive and confident that they will succeed," he said.

The JFF is confident that a new coach will be selected by the end of Brown's tenure, which will be a day after the November 15 friendly against Peru.

Under Brown, the team will also face Canada on September 4 and October 8.