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Beleaguered football coach Peter Taylor says he’s going to battle on despite a roller-coaster start to life in charge of the Bahrain national team.
He celebrated the first anniversary of his appointment with a news conference in the face of a critical local media unhappy with the country’s showing in the recent Arab Nations Cup staged in Saudi Arabia.
As recently reported in GulfWeekly, Taylor, a former England Under-21 coach, admitted he was devastated by his side’s mediocre showing in the tournament and was happy to take the blame for team selection, although he couldn’t hide his concern over the players’ lack of enthusiasm.
He went on to explain more fully his disappointment over what he perceived to be a ‘lack of support’ shown by the Bahrain Football Association after a bust-up with a local journalist who wrote a critical piece.
Talking to a press pack at a specially convened meeting at Bahrain Football Association (BFA) headquarters in Riffa, he said: “The journalist got upset because I would not conduct an interview with him during a league match.
“I go to league matches to watch the games and do not conduct interviews – and that goes for anyone.
“If I was with the English FA they would say something on my behalf. This is why I feel regular news conferences are a good thing because it allows me to have a voice.
“I would gladly invite the journalist concerned to come along so that I can find out what he wants to know .... but he hasn’t shown up.”
Taylor gave as good as he got, with the help of a Gulf Daily News journalist acting as a translator for the Arabic Press, and fired back to an acerbic sports writer: “Press conferences are not just for talking but listening too.”
He says he has ironed out the matter with BFA officials and now wants to build bridges with the local media.
Opening his heart, Taylor, 59, admits the organisational difference between England and Bahrain has taken time to get used to.
He said: “I didn’t say the system here was right or wrong, it’s simply different to what I’m used to. At home in the UK the head coach and manager is the same thing but here there is a system in place with a head coach and a team manager.
“Having two decision-makers makes it challenging. I found the system difficult, not Mohammed Al Saad (team manager). He’s a great guy.”
But he did admit that there had been communication difficulties. The squad left together for one tournament and to Taylor’s surprise three players disappeared. He only discovered later on that they had been given permission to depart by Al Saad because they had university examinations to sit.
Taylor says despite the ups and downs he is still thoroughly enjoying his spell in Bahrain and wants to concentrate on preparing the team for next year’s big cup challenge. Bahrain will host the 21st edition of the prestigious Gulf Cup soccer tournament to be held in January.
The Gulf Cup features all six nations from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), along with the Iraqis and Yemenis. It will be the fourth time in the event’s history that Bahrain will be hosts. The kingdom organised the first-ever competition in 1970, while also staging the event in 1986.
Taylor couldn’t hide his passion for the challenge, adding: “We will be hosting this prestigious tournament in a few months’ time and it’s incredibly exciting. So, if that means I will have to adjust to the system, then I will adjust. Sometimes I’m ‘a crazy Englishman’ and what you see is what you get.”
Bahrain narrowly missed out on reaching the next World Cup Finals in Brazil and many football pundits felt that if Taylor had been appointed earlier they might have made it. However, he led Bahrain to success in the first GCC Games and clinched football gold in the 2011 Arab Games in Doha.
Taylor’s high-flyers, however, came crashing down to earth in the recent Arab Cup of Nations contest. The side suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Morocco, followed up with a 2-0 loss against minnows Yemen before finishing off the campaign with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Libya.
But he feels he has uncovered a couple of gems during his match day studies during the season in the form of East Riffa’s Abdulla Al Hazza, 21, and Mohammed Al Harban, 23, from Al Najma Club.
Look out for their names in his next squad. The future looks bright, said Taylor with a smile.
