Kyle Lightbourne is confident the wave of apathy that hit the national squad during his early days in charge has now passed.

More than 20 players turned out for the first squad meeting of the year on Monday and those numbers were replicated with the first training sessions as his side prepare to take on mighty Brazilian champions, Santos, next weekend.

?I think I have the backing of the players now,? said Lightbourne, who had to contend with as few as five players turning out for training when he first took over from Kenny Thompson late last year.

?We had some problems early on with numbers but that seems to be over now and I am very happy with the commitment the players are showing.

?I have always said that you have to show some enthusiasm and commitment to the programme if you want to be a part of it and that is happening now.

?A squad of 35 players was named and we had more than 20 show up and most of the others contacted me to tell me why they couldn?t make it ? if they have legitimate excuses that is fine by me.?

Three players who are missing all the pre-Santos training sessions are Jay Smith, Zane Hendrickson and Ralph Bean Jr., all currently holed up in Regiment boot camp.

?They may play some part in the game,? said Lightbourne.

?This definitely is not their fault, so I can?t really hold it against them.?

One player who has appeared at both the meeting and the first training session is goalscoring sensation Raymond Beach.

The Cougars striker, who has scored 19 goals in just ten games this term, is now a hot favourite to be in the starting line-up for Sunday?s encounter at the National Stadium, especially with John Barry Nusum, who started the first Digicel Cup game for Lightbourne, not being recalled from Philadelphia.

Lightbourne is currently in the process of trying to get hold of tapes of Santos, so he can get a look at the type of players his charges will go up against in just eight days.

?Although it isn?t going to be their first team, we know it is going to be a tough challenge playing against the Brazilian champions,? continued Lightbourne, whose record after three games in charge stands at one win, one draw and one loss, albeit a controversial one against the British Virgin Islands.

?We can expect them to use a lot of short passes and a slow build-up like all Brazilian sides and we know that their players are going to be very talented.

?This game is not going to be about the result but it will be a great opportunity for our guys to take on a quality opponent like this, and hopefully we can take a lot from the match.?

And Lightbourne, a former UK pro, is hoping to see a big crowd out for his first game in charge on home soil, and the first match in Bermuda since the defeat to El Salvador that ended the World Cup qualifying campaign ? and Thompson?s reign in the sport?s top job.

?It would be great if we get 3,000 out,? added Lightbourne.

?But I guess a lot depends on the weather ? we all know that Bermudians don?t like going to sporting events when it rains.

?I would like to urge all fans to come out for this game. It will be a great opportunity to see the national squad and what we are doing with our programme, but also a chance to see a very skilful Brazilian side.

?We haven?t had a home game for a long time, so I would call on all fans of Bermuda football to come out in big numbers and support us.?