Andrew Bascome, the Bermuda coach, has called for his side to attack with speed and show defensive discipline when they face Puerto Rico in a friendly at the National Stadium tomorrow night.

The match will serve as a warm-up for Bermuda’s World Cup second-round qualifying tie against Guatemala, with the away leg next Friday before the return leg on Monday, June 15.

Bascome is pleased with how Bermuda’s professional and amateur players are mixing together, but stressed a need for focus and hard work particularly in defence.

“[Supporting defensively] is a different mindset,” said Bascome, who took the national team’s coaching reins in 2012. “When you pick the better players from each club, they come with behaviours because they were kind of ‘spoiled’ on their teams.

“The demand is not necessarily on them to work hard defensively. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just what it is.

“I know what we can do defensively, and I know what we can do offensively. So we must bring both principles together. And it’s the desire we have to show to beat them, that’s what it’s going to come down to.”

Bermuda, bolstered by professional players such as Reggie Lambe, Freddy Hall and Dale Eve, will be relying on several young local-based players to play well in key positions.

Bascome said he was greatly encouraged by the commitment and effort shown by the amateur players in the squad, who could feature heavily tomorrow.

“I’m very pleased with the commitment and character of these men, I can never stress that enough,” he said.

“If you look at the make-up of the team, yes we have professionals, but the professionals play in the first third and in the last third. But the other third, which is the core, those are amateur players.

“These are players that have to come to training, go to work, come back to training, go back to work. Most of the responsibility is reliant on them. Shifting the block, tracking, all those small principals that are required to make up a good team, a lot of it relies on the amateurs.”

Bascome added: “I find great joy in being in their presence. I see players that want to do well for their country. They aren’t obligated to play for their country. They have to work, they have to pay their bills. But they find it in their heart to come, for no money, other than for the love and wanting to represent their country.”

Bascome admitted that the Bermuda public are sometimes hard to please, but was confident they would get behind the team tomorrow.

“It’s tough because Bermudians, we’re very critical,” he said. “Very, very critical. Bermudians have a high expectation and we must give them what they want. It’s that simple. But just be nice. Just enjoy a bunch of amateurs that are going to work collectively to make Bermuda proud.”