Western Bureau:

Earlier this week, I ran into a female football fan, who without mincing words, took me to task over the sentiments I expressed in last week's column, as, according to her, she felt it was an unwarranted attack on national football coach Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore.

Surprised by her claim that the article seemed geared towards giving strength to those who are desperate to get Whitmore fired from the national programme, I spent over 20 minutes explaining to her that the concerns I expressed were more about the team than about Whitmore, who is arguably one of western Jamaica's most revered sporting sons.

In reflecting on some of the comments I have heard from other fans here in the west, there seems to be a general feeling that there are persons, especially some former high-profile coaches, who are trying to stir up anti-Tappa sentiments in the hope that they might bully the Jamaica Football Federation into relieving him of the job as national coach.

obligation

While I don't believe Whitmore should be exempted from criticism if there is a reason to question his performance, I would like to make it absolutely clear that I have not aligned myself to any campaign aimed at undermining him. In fact, I almost feel an obligation to be supportive of him.

Unlike some of the persons who are supportive of Whitmore simply because of his impressive legacy as the undisputed star of Jamaica's 1998 World Cup campaign, my reason for supporting him runs much deeper as my association with him was established prior to him attaining stardom.

During Whitmore's time as a student at St James High School, I was on staff there as a teacher of physical education. So, as was the case with other past students like Kenneth 'Blacks' Gaynor, Durrant 'Tatty' Brown and Jermaine 'Tuffy' Anderson, who went on to represent the national team, I feel very much a part of Whitmore's success.

While persons outside Montego Bay might not know, Whitmore is someone I speak to on a regular basis, as a consequence, some of the concerns I would normally raise in this column, I get a chance to discuss personally with him. In fact, unlike some persons who are describing him as aloof, I find him quite accommodating.

Now, back to the Reggae Boyz and the 2014 World Cup campaign. As I stated in last week's column, despite the fact that we garnered four points from our two games against Guatemala and Antigua Barbuda, I am still concerned by what appears to be a lack of team chemistry and general cohesiveness.

Brazilian influence

Unlike the successful 1998 outfit, I believe this team is lacking in personality, structure and character and, as I have been saying in recent years, I believe this is primarily on account of the 'beating around the bush' approach, which to my mind is an offshoot of Brazilian influence, being more slow and rhythmic rather than the trademark Jamaican speed and aggression.

I desperately want this team to succeed and it is against this background that I am calling on Whitmore to assert himself and lead from the front. While we cannot forget the contribution of a René Simões, we should not forget what happened when Carl Brown allowed Sebastião Lazaroni to overshadow him in the 2004 campaign.

Feel free to send your feedback to adrianfrater@hotmail.com.