PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Former Trinidad and Tobago footballer Kenneth Butcher believes that the national side will fail to qualify for the 2026 World Cup under head coach Dwight Yorke and has called on him to resign.
Kenneth ButcherT&T are currently in third position in Group B on one point from their two matches, having lost to Jamaica and drawn with Curacao in the final round of qualifying for the Men’s World Cup.
Jamaica currently leads the group with six points from their two matches, while Curacao sits in second on four points.
Speaking on Isports on i95.5 FM on Saturday, Butcher, who also served as Minister of Sport and is now a football analyst, said Yorke, who was specifically hired by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) to help the national team qualify for the World Cup, was not the man for the job.
“I’m not ok with Dwight Yorke staying on. We have to go on track record and Dwight has played two games and we have one point. We need 12 points to advance.
“Something like this happened before with Bertille St. Clair, who was removed after three games with one point and we brought in [Leo] Beenhakker and Beenhakker was the person who carried us to the World Cup,” Butcher pointed out.
“…When you are talking about inspirational leadership, I think Dwight is comfortable with that…but when it comes to tactical intelligence, based on his performance so far in terms of the selection of the players, the pressure of the players, playing in transition, all of those things are left wanting right now after the 12 games we have played so far.
“Based on analysing the pillars that require us to succeed at that level, I graded Dwight on seven particular areas and from my markings he got about 75 out of 100 per cent and therefore, that is not good enough…” he added.
Butcher said tough decisions had to be made in the best interest of the team.
“If I were in Kieron Edwards’ [TTFA president] place, I would get word to Dwight to tender his resignation.
“When Dwight tenders his resignation, it’s up to the TTFA Executive to accept it or reject it. If they reject it, the onus is on the administration to take the blows if they don’t qualify. If they accept it, what it does for Dwight is that it gives him an integrity standing in the world that the other nations will see that this fella has some character, he was doing a job, he realised it was difficult, and he has tendered his resignation,” Butcher said.
