Bermuda Football Association president Larry Mussenden has expressed his disappointment with those players who have turned their back on the senior national squad.

Mussenden said it was his belief that all players should aspire to represent their country.

His comments came on the heels of last week?s news that Devonshire Cougars? top goalscorers Raymond Beach and Heys Wolfe had refused invitations from national coach Kenny Thompson to join the squad which is currently preparing for the World Cup qualifying matches early next year.

While making it clear that he was speaking generally and not directing criticism at any specific players, Mussenden said the BFA would press ahead with their programme, involving the best players available for selection.

?There is going to be no hesitation whatsoever on the part of the Association to put together the best team of people who answer our call,? said Mussenden.

?I know that our coaching director Kenny Thompson is constantly looking for players to be in the various squads and he has made it quite clear that there is no player whose position is confirmed on that squad, and he has our full support.

?So while they may be selected, it?s also the players? responsibility to fully commit themselves because he is adding people on a weekly basis and I know that he will have no hesitation in dropping those people who are not fully committed. We would support him as we would any other coach one hundred percent of the way.?

When Thompson announced his training squad last week, the Cougars? duo were conspicuous by their absence, having bagged more goals between them than any other pair of club strikers over the past two seasons.

But Thompson later revealed that neither had responded to his invitation despite a follow-up call to Cougars? technical director who was also asked to approach the players on behalf of the BFA.

Mussenden said it was important that all players, male and female, stepped forward and showed pride in wearing their country?s colours when called on to do so.

?Again I stress that I am not speaking about any specific players but in general terms once again I would hope that any players who were invited to represent his or her country would give his or her best effort and would ensure that any obstacles in their way would be removed so that they could actually represent their country and be involved in the greatest sport in the world,? he said.

?The FIFA World Cup competition is definitely something that all players should be involved with. What we at the BFA are doing is looking at all of the players who are out there. We want to have the best people out there but the best people must have high standards and be able to meet all of our requirements.?

Mussenden said the BFA found it difficult to understand why players didn?t demonstrate national pride or had no desire to play at the national level.

?Why a person doesn?t show up is only something they would know, until they express their reasons to the BFA. The important thing is that we definitely are always going to ensure that we have a programme that is going to continue and we also are going to ensure that we have the best players that are available.

?But no matter what the sport is, I would encourage all sportsmen to aspire to represent their country, to represent this country of Bermuda and our beautiful island. In representing the country they hold the hopes, dreams and aspirations of all the young people who see them at the domestic level from week to week.

?That?s when they are perhaps role models for their clubs. But when they represent their country they go to the next level and they hold the hopes and aspirations of young people throughout the country and in years to come when these kids grow up I want to see them see people who may have then retired and say ?hey listen, you were my role model and I really admired you for what you did for the sport.

?Right now we view the likes of ex-players like Joe Trott, Ralph Bean, Clyde Best and Frankie Brewster and many others and say ?you were my role models?.

Mussenden reminded that ?the BFA office door was always open? for club administrators, team officials and players to come in and talk about specific issues.

?Our role is to promote the playing of football which is our number one mandate and in doing so we would assist anybody who has any specific concerns,? he said.