Although he will not be boarding the plane to El Salvador tomorrow with the rest of the Bermuda squad, football pro David Bascome was upbeat about their prospects against the Central Americans.

Confusion has reigned for most of the year over the potential inclusion of the Baltimore Blast and Harrisburg City Islanders player in the national team.

In December, coach Kenny Thompson expressed his concern over Bascome?s ability to adapt to outdoor football following a long indoor professional career.

In March however, Thompson told that it was ?quite possible? Bascome could make the starting line-up against El Salvador and insisted that he had never ruled him out of consideration for the national squad.

When pressed on the issue again yesterday, Thompson reiterated that it was Bascome?s decision not to get involved in the programme and that the opportunity to train had always been open to him.

To his credit perhaps, the professional veteran refused to dwell on the issue yesterday, preferring only to wish the team the best of luck and pour all his energies into his greatly expanded youth football clinic this summer.

The midfielder, who also stressed he has not given up the ambition of playing for the national team at some stage in the future, described those who fear a Bermudian mauling by their Central American opponents on Sunday as an ?overly critical bunch? and argued that as long as they believe in themselves, the Island team may well exceed many people?s expectations.

?I was reasonably impressed with Bermuda?s performance against Manchester City the other night, especially in the second half when they started to back themselves more,? he said.

?For a small Island, we have a lot of talent and I think sometimes the players are a little too afraid of failure. In Bermuda we are very quick to adopt a negative thought process about most things associated with sport and we have to be very careful about this because many have already condemned the team to defeat before they leave. But I am more optimistic and I wish the team well.?

Bascome also talked of how much he is enjoying the challenge of playing outdoor football on a more regular basis, having signed for the newly-formed US team the Harrisburg City Islanders in December last year.

He is also still plying his trade on the professional indoor circuit in America with the Baltimore Blast, with whom he won his first Major Indoor Soccer League championship medal this year after 13 years.

?I have had to make some small adjustments to adapt to the outside game,? he said.

?But I?ve enjoyed the challenge there immensely. Training sessions are cut-throat, intense and filled with passion. Obviously the major difference between indoor and outdoor soccer has been the awareness of players around you. Whereas indoor, passes tend to be quite short and the pace quite sharp, outside you have to be more aware, particularly as a midfield player, of the more open spaces you can exploit and your range of vision has to be much larger. But I started my career outside and I have not really had many problems.?

?Obviously I would have loved to have got on that plane, (to El Salvador) ? he continued.

?But at the moment the issue is Bermuda?s success in El Salvador and beyond and not David Bascome. I definitely would like to get involved in the national team at some stage but for now I?m going to let it go, respect the players in the frame and give them my full support.?