By NODLEY WRIGHT, Freelance Writer

THE JAMAICA FOOTBALL Federation (JFF) has decided to drop Peter Cargill as national coach in the wake of Jamaica's dismal performance in the Olympic qualifiers.

Top JFF officials appeared dismayed last night that news of the decision, which was taken over the weekend, had gotten out.

"Yes it is true but I would hate for him to hear from the media," one official said.

As assistant coach of the national team, Cargill was charged with the responsibility of preparing the Under-23 team for the Olympic qualifiers. The Olympic squad was viewed by many footballers as the strongest ever Jamaican team in this age group with a number of players who participated in the 1999 Under-17 World Cup in New Zealand and the Under-20 World Cup In Argentina two years later, available for selection.

Talent used sparingly

A number of those players were not included in the final squad while others such as Keith Kelly, thought to be the best talent in the country in that age group was used sparingly in a competition in which he starred four years earlier as a 16-year-old. Jamaica lost all their matches with Kelly scoring the only goal in a 1-2 loss to Caribbean rivals Trinidad and Tobago in what was then a bottom of the table clash.

Even before the team's final game, local fans began reacting like hungry hounds baying for Cargill's blood. Some fans went as far as to accuse the new administration led by Crenston Boxhill of being weak and indecisive.

On the face of it, Boxhill is not a man to ape his predecessor, Captain Horace Burrell, who swiftly dismissed former technical director Clovis de Oliveira in the wee hours of the morning of Jamaica's loss to Honduras in 2001, which effectively ended the country's chances of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.

The issue of sacking Cargill was put to the JFF's technical committee shortly after the team returned from Mexico last month. Boxhill could not be reached for comment last night. Cargill, on the other hand, refused to comment on the matter on the basis that he had not been told that he was going to be sacked.

"I have to get something official before I can comment," said the man who once marshalled Jamaica's midfield.