Michael Findlay, the interim coach of Canada, is aiming for a good performance — and result — when they take on Bermuda at the National Stadium tomorrow.

The Canadians participated in a light training session yesterday, with some visiting Bermuda for the first time.

“A number of our staff members have been here before and played against Bermuda, as well as a couple of our players, but a lot are first-time visitors to the island,” Findlay said before tomorrow’s match, which kicks off at 3pm.

“We’re a country and federation that has high expectations for the future. This is a heavy period of assessment for me as the [interim] coach and other staff members to see what our future looks like, so players have to come here and perform.

“This is not coming to Bermuda to have a lovely holiday, even though it’s a lovely place!”

Findlay has been in charge of the senior team since Canada Soccer exercised its option not to renew the contract of head coach Benito Floro last September after the country’s failed World Cup qualifying campaign.

Findlay, who had been the Spaniard’s assistant since 2014, flew in with the Canada team on Thursday evening after a training camp in Florida. They have brought 18 players to Bermuda, players from clubs in out-of-season leagues in North America, as they prepare for the 2017 season, which will include the biennial Concacaf Gold Cup in July.

“We arrived late yesterday, left Florida around 5 o’clock and got in and were welcomed by the Bermuda Football Association,” said Findlay at the end of a training session yesterday at the north field. “We’re very thankful they are able to host us and everyone is looking forward to the match.

“We’re in a transition period with this group, unfortunately we were eliminated from the ‘hex’ [final round of World Cup qualifying in the Concacaf region] in September and so we’ve begun the process of rebuilding the programme. We beat El Salvador but were eliminated in the group stages.

“Since then we travelled to Morocco for two games against Morocco and have travelled to Korea and played the Republic of Korea in November. Now coming here is our first project of the year, which fits into this group because they are domestic-based players in America and Canada in the MLS, NASL and USL.”

The squad for the Bermuda game features ten Major League Soccer players, three each from Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps and two from the Montreal Impact. Three others come from NASL clubs FC Edmonton, Ottawa Fury and San Francisco Deltas. Five players could earn their first caps in Bermuda.

“They are in the beginning stages of their seasons so we get an opportunity to get a good sense of what our squad looks like from youth to senior players,” Findlay said. “There are some new faces coming through and the next rotation to 2022 starts now. There is a Gold Cup this year and we look forward to prepping for that.”

Canada are ranked No. 120 in the world, their lowest ranking since 2014 when they were 122nd, while Bermuda are ranked 186th. When Floro took over Canada were ranked 88th in the world and tenth in Concacaf.

Canada have never lost to Bermuda, winning four and drawing four since the teams’ first meeting in 1968. Canada won 3-0 when they teams last met in March 2007.

“I was appointed the interim head coach in October and currently hold that position until my federation says that I don’t,” Findlay said. “I was Benito Floro’s assistant and he was released after we were defeated in World Cup qualifying.

“But I’ve been with national youth teams for many years, so I’ve been around the federation. A number of these players played with me at Under-15 and Under-16.

“I’ve come here to do my job and look for the best possible performance and hopefully a good result.”