It was good to see the under-15 team advance to the next qualifying round of the Caribbean Championships on Sunday night with a 5-0 victory at National Stadium.

I was not surprised when you look at the talent we have in Bermuda. But let's not get carried away, let's keep our feet on the ground. We got one result and it was nice to be able to play attractive soccer. But there is a lot more to do.

Bermuda have always produced good soccer players, but the problem has been getting them over the next hurdle. And to do that is going to take funds. If you haven't got the money, you can't do a lot of the things you want to do.

Bermuda Football Association are working very hard to raise funds so that we can continue to progress.

To be honest, a lot of our junior teams would have beaten the Caymans. I didn't think they were a very good team. The Caymanian teams at that age level are not going to compete with us because I think we're better equipped than them.

If you can't find a way to keep the children occupied and get them good information on a continuous basis within the clubs then you are going to have lapses.

You also have to have quality competition. That's the only way we are going to get better. Nobody really mentions the United States but they have one of the most successful youth programmes in world soccer today.

Their teams qualify for World Cup championships at under-17 and under-20 and they must be doing something right. They are on our doorstep and we have to take advantage of that.

We have to take this team now and make sure they get more exposure. We have to take them overseas and let them play against top competition, to get more games, harder games, so that they can see exactly where they are.

That's going to make them better because you don't get better by playing against teams less prepared than yourself.

In the Caribbean competition there are sides like Jamaica and Trinidad, and we've got to be seen beating those teams. We need to beat them because we don't want to send out a false message.

We still have to put it all in perspective because we are talking about young boys, 13, 14 years-old, who are just making the jump into international soccer.

On a separate note, I was pleased to see Shaun Goater achieve another 20-goal season in England. To score 20 goals in any division is an accomplisment, so you have to take your hat off to Shaun.

I hope he goes on to score 20 when he gets into the top division. He has played against Premiership teams and scored goals. And to score goals on a regular basis at any level, you have to have something special.

At 400,000 he was a real bargain for Manchester City. If I was a manager, I wouldn't hesitate to buy him.

On the issue of club versus country, what I want Shaun to understand is that the country has to come first. After all he was playing in a game here when an overseas team came on tour and as a result he got a chance to go to England.

We have other people here who, if given the chance, could do the same thing.

No, the guys here are not as good as him but they have other responsibilities.

Everything I did in football I did for Bermuda and that's what I want Shaun to be aware of. He's a gifted player and has the world at his feet.