of the Panama City pitch where his side will play two Olympic qualifiers this week.

But Trott believed his players were capable of adapting their game to deal with the hard, bumpy surface.

Trott got a good look at the pitch in the Rommel Fernandez National Stadium on Sunday, when he was among a capacity 22,000 crowd which saw Panama beat Honduras 1-0 in a World Cup match.

"The surface is not even and the grass is patchy and some areas of the midfield are a bit barren,'' said Trott.

"Neither side tried to play a short passing game and every free-kick was played long. So it probably won't allow us to play a short passing game.'' Panama's first victory over Honduras in 22 years was greeted with widespread joy and front-page headlines in a nation which is fanatical about football.

The 18-man squad were due to train at the stadium last night, something Trott felt would help them deal with the surface.

"It will help them get the feel of the place and find out the places where they can expect the most uneven bounces,'' said the coach.

Bermuda open their campaign tomorrow night against host nation Panama and follow that with an equally tough-looking fixture against Cuba on Friday night. They must finish top of the group to advance to the next qualifying phase in Hershey, Pennsylvania later this month.

The squad trained yesterday morning and afternoon at a naval academy field in the city.

Trott said he had no injury worries for tomorrow's clash, although Tokia Russell had been suffering with a head cold.

"He's had a bit of flu, but I think he's OK now. He wasn't quite himself in training this morning, but he looked better in the afternoon and he's just told me he's feeling OK.''