Meet Ian Andrew Mork, Belize Jaguars new head coach

Ian Andrew Mork

Since previous head coach Leroy Sherrier returned to his home in Costa Rica, the Football Federation had found a suitable replacement. Ian Andrew Mork was formally introduced as the head coach today and we asked him how ready is the national team for the Gold Cup? He said the team’s goal is to shock the world.

Ian Andrew Mork, Head Coach, National Team

“Preparations are going very well…right now at times we are training three times a day. This week…we might even train tonight…that’s our plan because of coming here this afternoon. The synthetic grass was something important to us we mentioned several months ago because that’s a different surface and that’s gonna be our first game so we want to make sure we are ready for that as we arrive in the U.S. and we are hoping to get more training when we arrive in the U.S. Right now, the team is working very hard. We are making the most of the resources we have right now. The coaching staff we are spending a lot of hours off the field as well preparing everything and I have to give a lot of credit to the players right now for the work they are putting in. we are looking at shocking the world so to speak and become giant killers. It is not an easy task, but I think we are up for it and we are going to go there with a lot of confidence.  We are looking out for all three. We have already been talking about all three, but our first match is something we have to be ready for first of all. They play a different system—the U.S. does—and so that is why we’ve been trying to have a few different ideas tactically of how we can play against them. I don’t know that it is true that we have to beat all three of them. We are looking at if we possibly get four points within our group; we have to get a win or possibly a tie out of the three games. We are hoping that will be enough for us to advance because also two of the top third place advance. But ultimately we want to advance and I can guarantee all of you that, for all the players and all the coaches, we don’t step on the field without thinking about winning a game. It’s just in us…that’s just what we do.  We’re top competitors. We also have to respect our opponents and take it one game at a time and respect their abilities. So we are going to do our best to make sure that we have a positive result in each of the matches and ultimately advance.”

Three hundred thousand dollars is needed for the team’s journey to the Gold Cup. Following a telethon held this past Saturday at the Princess Hotel in Belize City, a mere one hundred and thirty thousand dollars was pledged.