termed as a sad development.

That leaves the Bermuda Football Association in a predicament as it plots the way for a foreigner to take over our development from the grass roots up -- there is no one to pass the torch with Darrell leaving earlier than the BFA expected.

Constant talk of a foreign coach coming in has gotten to Darrell. He has not openly said so but, after five years in charge, the former professional decided to leave now while the leaving was good.

Whether his resignation will be accepted is contingent upon his meeting with the BFA Coaching Committee tomorrow morning. Sources within believe that that committee does not have a commitment to keep Darrell on as the top man. This could stem from a survey at the beginning of the year when the public favoured Bermuda have a full-time overseas coach.

Darrell has said that he will reveal his reasons for leaving one of soccer's two hot seats, administrator Joe L. Brown has the other, after Saturday's meeting, where he will be in front of a group that includes his two predecessors -- Roddy Burchall and Carlton (Pepe) Dill. Former BFA president Gerard Bean is the chairman.

Bermuda finished the World Cup with a record of four wins, two draws and four losses, including their triumphs over Antigua and Haiti in the preliminary and first rounds.

After all is said and done, who is to blame? Where did things go wrong after Bermuda left for the three away matches? Darrell bears a load for not being able to lift his players when they were down after the dismantling in El Salvador.

That match included, he did well -- though not the best he could -- with the players and preparation that the national team had.

This World Cup run showed that with backing, financially and emotionally, Bermuda can compete. It was somewhat a pipedream to hope they could beat Canada and El Salvador into the next round but they are not that far away provided the country remains fully behind the programme.

Shawn Goater's reaction to Darrell was disappointing. He said on Sunday that he will never return to play for Bermuda if he remains as national coach. But by Wednesday his tone had softened, though he did not go back on his earlier criticisms.

Goater appeared almost apologetic without apologising as he seemed more upset that his team-mates were not professional throughout.

It was long ago approved that the national team players be compensated for time away from work. The BFA made up the difference in wages for employers who were not willing to give full paid leave and a set figure was given to those unemployed.

So everyone got paid. That is why Goater said he expected a professional attitude. He did not think it was prevalent and consequently reacted unprofessionally upon the team's return.

So where do we go from here? Regardless of who the next national coach is, the person will take some doing to match Gary Darrell's record. And assuming he will be a foreigner, he will almost certainly be afforded more respect than Darrell or any past Bermudian coach has received.

That is the nature of the beast. We give our own a rough time but listen attentively when an outsider has something to say.

To this day many feel our national programme has been disappointing since the era of Graham Adams and Allan Jones, both British coaches.

But there have since been many quality players to grace the local pitches and a few good national teams, the present one included.

The BFA's prerequisite appears to be someone who can immediately go into the schools. But if we are to continue on a course that will see an improved performance in the 1998 World Cup qualifiers, it needs to also be someone who can best serve our needs in the CONCACAF region.

Gary Darrell still has much to offer Bermuda soccer. While he may not be the man to be in charge of the national programme, he needs to be there for what will be invaluable input.

The BFA will be foolhardy to make a clean break, and the onus is now on the Coaching Committee see that it does not happen...starting tomorrow.