IT could soon be time to give youth a chance says goalkeeping coach Vic Bettinelli who has been putting Bermuda's national number ones through their paces this week.

And Bettinelli, who is now with Fulham, urged Bermuda keepers to work more on their footwork to help keep possession.

Bettinelli, who was instrumental in setting up the recent friendly with Chelsea, has been training Timmy Figureido and Jason Williams this week ahead of Bermuda's crunch World Cup qualifier with Trinidad and Tobago.

He told the Mid-Ocean News that Williams would benefit from more exposure.

He said: "Jason is younger, very athletic ¿ definitely the skeleton of a good goalkeeper. He's got fast hands, he's a good shotstopper and he's brave but he struggles a little bit on the backpass and, I am not being disrespectful to him, he's not fantastic on crosses.

"But as experience comes he will get better at making decisions. Jason needs to play more games so his decision-making improves. You can try and replicate it in training but until you get out there and play it is not the same."

He said often management didn't want to put a young goalkeeper in because they are frightened about what might happen.

"But quite often you find out the young keeper is better when the older keeper gets injured, that has happened many times."

Either way he was full of praise for the pair. "They compliment each other and there is a real bond between them, when one of them makes a mistake in training they gee each other up, there is no animosity, they both have a really good work ethic.

"When they were at Fulham the other week I worked them hard and they gave me a lot back.

"You've got two different types of goalkeeper. You have a guy who is coming to the end of his career whose a very good decision-maker and then Jason who is young and up and coming and whose very raw but will probably see himself as stepping into Tim's shoes in one or two year's time so you probably have a decent balance ¿ the older player who has seen it all before and the young lad who wants to step in and take his shirt."

He said both were very much like American goalkeepers ¿ quick and fast.

"Although Tim is getting old he wants to do things at 100 miles an hour rather than slow things down at certain time players. If teams are organised you need to slow the game down and pick the right option, digest the information.

"There are other times in the counter attack when teams are unorganised. Can you select the right golf club, to choose the right type of service to use?"

He said Jerzy Dudek had won the Champions League with Liverpool but Pepe Reina was brought in because of his distribution.

"It's phenomenal, he's got that type of South American side volley which goes into people like Torrez and Gerrard. It's a fantastic tool to use. People like Petr Cech ¿ they have great distribution. It's about being balanced. If you can't play with both feet you are going to have a real problem."

He said the modern game was all about keeping possession.

"My philosophy is I don't want my keepers to kick it, I want them to pass it and play out. They must do their handling and saving but they also have to work on the backpass and crosses."

But he said Figureido had a nice presence.

"He has a calming influence over the back four. They trust him and they work as a unit. Although they lost to Chelsea you could see there was communication between them. It's good for the island that a lot of the lads play for the Hogges and the national team."

Bettinelli is an old mate of Bermuda Football Association technical director Derek Broadley and will remain in Bermuda after the national team set off for the first leg against Trinidad but will leave after the second home leg.

Starting this weekend he will work with under-17s and under-20s then when the national team goes to Trinidad he will work with the clubs right down to the youth level. Broadley said his friend certainly knows his stuff.

"I have known Vic for about 18 years ¿ he's worked with some of the top goalkeepers in the world ¿ he worked with Edwin van DeSaar.

"He was very productive with Nigel Martyn when he was at Palace and rose up to the England national team, Vic was the coach then.

"He's got a wealth of experience, very well qualified and is one of the few with a UEFA goalkeeping coach A licence. He's very much in tune with how I like the game to be played. He compliments the system I am trying to put in place."

Broadley said goalkeeping has changed so much in recent years.

"All the rules that have been introduced to football recently affect the goalkeeper. He doesn't just work on the basic handling. He works within the game ¿ the stats show 75 percent of a goalkeeper's touches are with their feet so you have to adapt your programme to suit those needs.

"No longer does the goalkeeper just have to make saves ¿ they have to work with the back four, they have to work on striking the ball.

"I am looking at how the game is played here. The first thing that is very obvious and we have Pro Zone stats to support it is that Bermuda players tend to play in small areas. That has implications tactically and technically."

He said Bermuda players couldn't hit the ball over long distances and they found it very difficult to switch play.

"The other implications of not being able to hit the ball over long distances, is there is a lack of heading. Sometimes it can lead to a lack of competitiveness.

"In England you knock the ball into a corner and try and squeeze and stop the other team getting out.

"If you haven't got the ability to do that you are always playing under pressure so you don't tactically enforce your game style on the other team."