THE MEDIA, as usual, visited the Reggae Boyz during training before their big match against Canada.

However, what they saw was not usual, as John Barnes - the man slated to take over after the completion of the second round - was seen running the show.

If the arrangements that Barnes came to Jamaica with had remained, this would not have been strange, as he was scheduled to take over for the Canada game, relegating present head coach, Theodore Whitmore, to the assistant's position.

However, Whitmore's success in his original two-game stint as head coach forced the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) to allow things to remain, as the Reggae Boyz still had a chance at qualification.

Media's comments

However, during Jamaica's first training session just two days before the big match-up, Barnes seemed to be in full control of the team.

Accordingly, the media reported the surprise, as is its job. After that, Barnes and Whitmore came out to say they were surprised by the comments from the media and I found that strange.

Transparency is something that has for a long time been missing from our football at the highest level.

Speculation and rumours have stood in place of that transparency and so the media and the public have had to depend on signs from training sessions and reports of goings-on in camps and on aeroplanes to decipher what is the state of the flagship team.

In any other country, reports of this nature would be expected and would not have impacted on the team and I was surprised that Barnes commented on it as if it were an anomaly.

A non-issue

The new head coach does have a point, though, when he said he would have rather not been distracted by the public and the media regarding something that is a non-issue.

According to Barnes, Whitmore had asked him to make observations on the team's new formation during the training session and the media took that out of context.

Even if that is so, Barnes, with huge experience in England's highest league and at international level, should understand the nature of the beast that is the media.

The public's interest in what the team does and who does it with them is high, and the media cannot be expected to sit around and not feed that desire for knowledge.

Had the duo of Whitmore and Barnes been more open about what it was they were doing during Monday's training, there would not have been any queries and that is exactly what bigger teams do.

They strive to make their relationship with the public so open that there are no real surprises and the fans, who are the ones most affected by the team's performances, do not feel left out.

Attention to fans

After all that is said and done, I don't suppose Barnes, being the man he is, will attempt to blame the media in future for affecting the way the team plays.

What I hope is that in future, he pay attention to the fans, and dismembers the tradition of secrecy within the Jamaica Football Federation.

That secrecy has been the cause of many failures in the past, and I hope an end is in sight.

Send feedback to Paul-Andre.Walker@gleanerjm.com.