Reggae Boyz coach John Barnes - File

THE REGGAE BOYZ pretty much represent the walking wounded, dissected with injuries that have separated their key players from the squad to face Nigeria's Super Eagles in a friendly international at the New Den, Millwall FC's stadium, in London.

Kick-off is slated for 7:45 p.m. (2:45 p.m. Jamaica time).

In spite of the high-profile absentees, coach John Barnes is looking for a performance of high quality, as the Boyz seek to continue improving their world ranking, which now stands at 66, and build towards the CONCACAF Gold Cup to be held later this year.

"It's always important to do as well as you can. We're playing a team 40 places above us, they're in the top 20, so we're the underdogs," Barnes remarked. "But it's important for us to put in a good performance because we can't say we're going to win, we can't say what the score's going to be, but what we should be able to guarantee is a performance of quality, a performance of spirit, determination and organisation."

He added: "It's always the attitude of the players," he said pointing to the approach. "Regardless of whether it's a World Cup qualifier against Mexico, a Digicel Cup match or a friendly match, I expect them to have the same attitude because that is what's going to define us. We cannot choose when we're going to perform.

"I'm trying to produce a team that is going to play consistently well, every time we go on (the field) not just in our matches, but in our training, we've to approach each and every match in the same manner."

Important players

Regular captain Ricardo Gardner, goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, central defender Ian Goodison and striker Ricardo Fuller and Swansea City midfielder Darren Pratley, who was invited in the 20-member squad, have all been sidelined by recent injuries.

Additionally, striker Dane Richards has been ruled out due to a mishap regarding the return of his British visa, according to team manager Howard Bell.

Bell also said the US-based Richards, who plays in the MLS, submitted his request for the visa, which was granted in the States. However, the courier did not return his passport on time, hence he missed the trip.

Pointing to his absent players, Barnes said: "It's affected the plans in terms of the personnel, but not in terms of the way we'll approach the match, not in terms of the faith I have in the players because while you could argue that all of them would've played, you've to look at the squad and you've to have faith in the squad.

"As much as they're big players and they're important players, I do have faith in the squad that we have and in terms of the work that we did, particularly now that we didn't have much time to prepare and from the work we did in the Digicel Cup, the players are understanding what's expected from them."

New players

Nigeria's coach Amodu Shuabi told reporters yesterday that it's the final match to prepare his players for their next World Cup qualifying assignment next month and added that he'll be "looking at some new players".

Barnes says he doesn't know much about the Super Eagles, other than the strength reflected by their ratings and top-quality players, including Chelsea midfielder Jan Obi Mikel and Portsmouth's Nwankwo Kanu.

"I haven't had a chance to look at the team," he stated. "But this is their last match before going into a World Cup qualifier, so they have to take this match seriously - to have a look at things and pick his best squad."