Bermuda's Technical Director of Coaching Clyde Best is getting a taste of the apathy modern day players show towards national team training -- and he's not at all happy about it.

Just six members of the 23-strong soccer squad selected to face Puerto Rico at National Stadium on December 19 showed up for Saturday's training session at Warwick Academy.

And that poor turn-out forced Best to call an emergency meeting with the players last night.

Those who showed up for the first training session were Elliott Jennings, Paul Cann, Clifford Roberts, Dano Outerbridge, Kentoine Jennings and Dennis Robinson.

"I must admit that I was disappointed. To be honest it may cause me to do a few other things to sort the problem out,'' said Best. The coach refused to say what plans he had in mind, but word is that he might try to persuade the BFA to implement a policy that would ban players from taking part in club matches if they failed to report for national team training.

Best was instrumental in getting the BFA to find opposition for the senior squad in order to help them prepare for next April's Shell Cup in the Cayman Islands -- and Puerto Rico were considered ideal opponents since they are also involved in the same event.

Aldwyn Savery, first vice-president of the BFA and chairman of the coaching and selection committee, yesterday voiced his anger at the no-show players.

He questioned their "national pride'' and hinted that the time might be ripe to implement a policy that force the players make more of a commitment to the national programme.

Savery disclosed that plans were underway to have his coaching committee meet with club presidents to discuss the issue.

"We are now talking about meeting with the presidents. We've met with the coaches in the past, but that hasn't been too successful in helping to bring the players out. Now we hope by meeting with the presidents it will have a greater affect,'' said Savery.

"It is very disappointing, especially after we did so well in the last World Cup we entered. When the programme faded somewhat after that success, there was this cry from the players that they had nothing to aim for, that there was no national programme with no national commitments scheduled.

"But now that we are going full steam ahead in trying to re-establish the programme they are not responding.

"It's both disappointing and frustrating. You wonder what is wrong, where the national unity has gone. We will have to create some creative ways of improving things, but at the moment we just don't know what to do because we are not in a position to pay players.

"The bottom line is that we find it strange that there are so many players who do not want to represent their country.''