mood of the Bermuda team is becoming more and more razor-edge.

Indeed, with the event involving Bermuda, Jamaica, Barbados and Netherlands Antilles slated to kick off on Monday night at the National Stadium, the ambience has gone from that of longing suspense to one of eager anticipation and optimism.

Such possibilities include advancement to the next round of competition to be hosted by the US, and if successful there, entry into the finals set to be hosted by Trinidad and Tobago.

"You can sense the excitement as it gets closer,'' said coach Kenny Thompson, one not looking any further than the current setting. "These players have been through a lot as far as having the qualification rounds first scheduled for early December and being called off, and not knowing what was going to happen. And then in late January the same thing again and having to refocus toward mid-February.

"It's been a roller-coaster ride for them and I think they know this time it's going to happen for real, and as it gets closer you can sense the excitement in how they talk about themselves and so on.

"I think they're going to rise to the occasion and we want to be able to guarantee that we perform at a very high level and give the viewing public value and entertainment. We can't guarantee results, but should we get the results that we're looking for, that's the icing on the cake.'' But for Bermuda to get a taste of the sweetness of the topping they will have to survive a supreme physical test, one brought on by the tournament format, which has the competing nations playing three matches in six days.

Team depth will thus likely play a key factor, as well as conditioning, and this is why Thompson has stressed the key elements of diet and nutrition to his players, making what, when and how much they eat a part of the training regimen.

"Games every other day will be tough, however, they were faced with that against tough opponents when they went to Europe,'' continued the coach. "The games were of a high intensity and they were up to the task, so it's something that they have been through before.

"That is not to say it will be easy this time, because it certainly will not be easy.

"We've talked about the physical conditioning of the players and that should help with the recovery between matches. We've also educated the players and their parent regarding nutrition for football.

"Footballers' diet can't be like the average person's diet, because in football we use up more energy and require more glycogen -- the football fuel -- in our system. So, we've educated the boys on how to eat in the lead up, as we are training very hard, and often, thus they're constantly depleting their gycogen stores and have to eat to raise them up again.

"We've educated them on that and I've told them it's not what their parents want to cook for them, but what Kenny Thompson would have them eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner.'' Kenny Thompson: `diet so improtant for footballers.'