Final audition for Hall

Paul Hall has yet to register a win with the national senior men's team since taking over as interim head coach in December. While he acknowledges that today's final World Cup-qualifying game against Honduras is his last opportunity to prove he can take the job, he says he is more focused on laying the groundwork for the next cycle.

The Reggae Boyz will end their World Cup-qualifying campaign against 'Los Catrachos' tonight at 8:05 p.m at the National Stadium, with Hall hoping that he can capture his first win with the team and convince the Jamaica Football Federation to give him the reins full-time.

Including the January friendly against Peru, Hall has had a poor start in his three-month stint, with five losses and only one draw in six games. Hall's struggles continued with a 4-0 thumping by Canada as they watched the regional leaders qualify for the World Cup, ending a 36-year wait.

CURRENT RECORD

In his pregame press conference yesterday, Hall acknowledged that his current record doesn't help his cause, but says that his responsibility is to provide a platform to build on, regardless of whether he continues in the job or not.

"Yes, it probably does (affect my chances). I'm not sure, because all I know that, in my own brain, is that my job is to lay the foundations. Whether it's me or whether it's somebody else, it is to lay down a clear foundation for us to go forward. That is the most important thing," Hall said

His predecessor, Theodore Whitmore, was let go after eight games in the qualifiers, having only accumulated seven points from eight games. Hall has only managed to get one point from their last five qualifiers.

While he said that a win tonight would help his case, he said that whoever takes the job has to have the proper long-term strategy in place that will get the programme to its desired destination.

"It is important to lay a foundation, because we have been trying this for over 20 years, and we just need to go forward with a plan. Someone needs to do that. We need to plan our way forward. This thing is not going to happen overnight," Hall said.

Honduras are the only team that the Reggae Boyz have beaten in this campaign, and they have not lost a game against the Central Americans at the National Stadium in nine attempts.