pressured into making any radical changes to his starting lineup for Sunday's World Cup second round clash in El Salvador.

After taking the squad through two intensive training sessions at National Stadium, one in the morning and a second in the afternoon, he took time out to react to criticism from various quarters over the team's mediocre performance during their 1-1 draw against Jamaica on Sunday.

"I have heard the comments people have made about us against Jamaica, but I know what I want to do. There has been a lot of criticism, some constructive and some not really harsh,'' said Darrell.

"But I don't expect to make any radical changes to the starting lineup. The public is entitled to their opinion. Most of what I have heard are people stating what they feel should happen but we all know that the final decision is left up to me.'' Some comments, though, have come as a surprise to Darrell because he was the first to declare after Sunday's showing that Bermuda didn't perform nearly as well as they did against El Salvador the previous Sunday.

However, while there have been calls to have Rotherham United professional Shawn Goater switched back to his more familiar role as a striker instead of being used in midfield, and for David Bascome to be brought into the team as a playmaker in the middle, it is clear that the manager is not about to be instructed by anyone over how to choose his team.

As the team prepares for tomorrow's departure for a tough three-game away series against El Salvador, Jamaica and Canada, Darrell admitted the games could be harder than the two recent home games were. But he pointed out that Bermuda will just have to adjust and be prepared for the huge challenge ahead.

"No question there is going to be some decisions to be made now that Kyle Lightbourne (suspended on Sunday) is back and because Sammy Swan didn't perform up to what he himself expected. I was not too happy with his game either. But I think there will definitely have to be some consideration given to try and get the team back to the winning selection we had,'' said Darrell.

"However what we want to do is to be careful and not let the players be too affected by the remarks that are being tossed about by the public. I can say right now that it has already had some influence on their attitude, that's for certain.'' Focussing on his team selection he explained that with Neil Paynter still not fully recovered from his leg injury there isn't expected to be any changes to the defence going into the El Salvador game on Sunday. Paynter, who played sweeper against El Salvador, trained yesterday but still wasn't certain if he would be fit enough in six days time.

"We will have to wait and see what Neil's fitness is like. He is definitely not fully fit and I would prefer to wait until he is 100 percent ready for the Jamaica game before using him, that is if he is needed.

"But we could see from the Jamaica game that we need to do some things with our defence. I think it is mainly things concerning attitude though, we just have to get players to understand what their responsibilities are,'' said Darrell.

Most of the criticism has been centered at other areas and Darrell is aware of them. "I have heard a lot of talk about the Goater situation and David Bascome, but I still say that in the end I will do what I feel is best for the team,'' he said.

Looking at the Goater situation more closely, he noted: "He has scored five goals for us, two against Haiti, one against the United States and two versus Antigua and the important thing is that three of the goals came from the midfield position where we have been using him.

"I would think he has made some adjustment in our game-plan formation. It appears that he is further from goal than he really is, but if one looks back at the El Salvador game if there was a player who was the key to our success, it was Shawn Goater.'' According to Darrell, Goater made a vast difference not only because of his play on the ball but because he is "an organiser and keeps reminding people of what their responsibilities are.'' The most common suggestion has been for Darrell to move Goater up front with Lightbourne and to bring Bascome into the lineup as a midfielder.

Darrell hinted that he wasn't about to make any significant changes to the 5-3-2 system he has been using in recent matches, indicating that the approach they planned against Jamaica may have worked if the players stuck to it.

"We tried something on Sunday and I think the only reason it didn't work was because of the player's attitude more than anything else. I don't think they were as prepared to play as they were against El Salvador. They were still enjoying the victory we had the previous week and not really focussing on the job at hand.

"We have six games to play in this competition and we need to adopt a slightly different attitude and realise that every game is important and that we are never out of it until it is all over.'' Meanwhile the national team will be the centre of attraction when they will be hosted at Albuoy's Point Point from 12 noon to 1.30 p.m. today by the Bank of Bermuda, the team's main sponsors.

The pep rally will enable the community to not only give them a rousing send-off but to also honour them for their fine run so far in the World Cup qualifying round. The players will also be available to sign autographs.

GARY DARRELL: "Final decision is up to me.''