While they may not be full-time, Bermuda's national soccer players are being asked to be professional in every other aspect of their game.

National coach Kenny Thompson has told the squad, currently in training in readiness for the visit of Barbados over the Christmas holidays, that they must possess both self-discipline and commitment if they want to remain in the fold.

"This professional approach is not from a monetary perspective but more from an attitude perspective," said Thompson, who took over at the helm earlier this month.

The coach said he realised that he was asking a lot and, bearing that in mind, he was prepared to be flexible.

"For instance, the reality is that the players are part-time footballers with real responsibilities to their employment and families," he said. "With this, I have made a demand on the players to give the team and the country an honest commitment.

"This means that if a player cannot attend a training session due to work or family commitments, there is a level of understanding and respect on my behalf so long as the player is truthful regarding his employment or family reasons for not being able to attend."

Thompson said he hoped, through this mutual respect, to avoid situations he had found himself in previously.

"I have experienced situations in the past with players were they will say that they are unable to attend training sessions due to work or family commitments and then later I have learned that the player was in a bar or on the street," he said.

"Once the trust is broken problems arise."

Thompson said it was important that it was a two-way street, however.

"One form of this is respect for one another's time as each one of us has some other things that we could be doing," he said. "To this end, training sessions start exactly on the time specified and end exactly the time specified."

For the team to be a success adequate preparation was key, Thompson said.

"The players have made a commitment to each other, to football and to the country as a whole and, therefore, we all must make time to prepare for as optimal performance as possible given our circumstances," he said.

The early signs, he said, were good.

"I am impressed by what I have observed to this point during the training sessions," he said. "The players have a lot of technical and athletic potential and their motivation is high."