Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport Editor

Jamaica's Dane Richards - File

HEARTBROKEN by their failure to advance in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, Jamaica's Reggae Boyz set out today on a road to rebuild and redeem their image when they tackle Barbados in the feature match of a Digicel Caribbean Championships double-header at the National Stadium at 7 p.m.

"After the disappointment of not going to the World Cup, we have to bounce back. The last three matches against Mexico, Honduras and Canada were valiant and we have to carry on from there," Jamaica's head coach, John Barnes, noted of his 83rd-ranked team which built up momentum by winning three consecutive games to finish on 10 points, only to be nudged out by Mexico on goal difference.

Honduras won the group and only two moved on to the final round.

Qualifiers

The match, in the eight-team regional championship finals, will be preceded at 5 p.m. by a clash between the other teams in Group A, Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada.

Group B contestants Guadeloupe, Antigua and Barbuda, number-one ranked Caribbean team Cuba and defending champions Haiti are the other qualifiers. They will open their campaign tomorrow in a Jarrett Park double-header.

Each group will be contested on a round-robin format with the top two countries advancing to the semi-finals. Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, the only Caribbean team remaining in 2010 World Cup qualifying, are expected to advance from Group A but the other challengers are full of belief they will advance to the semi-finals as well.

Automatic qualification

Importantly, the quartet of semi-finalists also gains automatic qualification to the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the confederation's flagship competition which will be played next year in North America, and Barnes, who was officially installed head coach of the Reggae Boyz on November 1, but will be handling the reins in a competitive scenario for the first time, has his sights set firmly on achieving that goal.

"The aim obviously is the Gold Cup, but before that there is the Caribbean Championships. To do well, we have to do well against Barbados. That's what we have to focus on - the Caribbean Cham-pionships and Barbados," reasoned the Jamaica-born midfielder who represented England at two World Cups. "If you worry about three games, semi-finals and final, you might not get there."

Barnes, wary not to give away any clues to the opponent, kept his team to his chest.

Possible players

There is a list of players, though, who are likely to feature, mainly those who play overseas, including Demar Phillips of Stoke City, the only England-based player in the squad.

However, among the Reggae Boyz are other Europe, United States and even China-based (Demar Stewart) players on what remains a decent roster for this level of competition.

It is headed by striker Luton Shelton, the speedy America-based duo of Dane Richards and Omar Cummings, the versatile and classy Tyrone Marshall, who plays with Canadian outfit Toronto FC, experienced midfielder Andy Williams, Oneil Thompson and Phillips, who was a late addition, as well as regular starters, goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts and midfielder Rodolph Austin.

Despite Jamaica winning seven and drawing three of 12 contests against Barbados, Barnes says there is no room for complacency.

No complacency

"We have to approach the Digicel Cup from the same point of view as the World Cup qualifiers. It, being a lesser tournament, should not deter us from adopting the same attitude as in the World Cup," he said. "We have to approach Barbados the same way. We can't say it's easier. We expected a tough game against Honduras, Mexico and Canada. We will not go into this match, any match, being complacent."

The Barbadians, who are ranked 100 by FIFA, arrived in the country on Monday evening and are quite hopeful.

Thomas Jordan, Barbados' coach, said: "We are going to be competitive and try to do our best because we want to do our country proud and we also hope to beat Jamaica."

Their team will be captained by Norman Forde and also includes some experienced veterans in Gregory Goodridge and John Parris, who were recalled recently, as well as some new, young players.

Confident

They are unbeaten in five Digicel Championship matches, beating the British Virgin Islands (2-1), St Kitts and Nevis (3-1), Suriname (3-2), Netherland Antilles (2-1), as well as finishing 1-1 with Cuba.

"Our team is pretty confident even though we didn't get the amount of practice games to keep the team in tune, but we are happy to be here because we want to show people that Barbados' football is at a proper level in the Caribbean," said Jordan.