He has tasted success with Jamaica's team in 1998 when they reached their only World Cup finals. Now Cayman Islands football coach Carl Brown is hoping for more of the same when he faces Bermuda next month in the first round of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. On Monday Brown and the 25-man Cayman squad arrived in Jamaica for a one-week training camp.

Brown, who was capped over 60 times by Jamaica during the 1970s and '80s, is one of the most experienced coaches in the Caribbean and has also worked alongside former Bolton and Newcastle United manager Sam Allardyce.

"I learned a whole lot under Big Sam," the Cayman Islands boss recalled about the man who recently left his post at the Newcastle United helm by mutual consent. "With him, everything had its place, nothing was left to chance and everyone was consulted."

When Jamaican star Ricardo Gardner signed with Premier League side Bolton Wanderers in 1998, then manager Allardyce brought Brown in as an assistant at the Reebok for a year.

Brown, 56, was assistant to Rene Simoes when the Reggae Boyz reached their only FIFA World Cup finals back in 1998 and has also been a head coach in his own right on no less than five separate occasions. Brazilian Simoes was recently hired back by Jamaica in their push to get to the 2010 finals.

"I can't say that we'll take the Caymans to the World Cup the way we did with Jamaica, but I am sure we can make the Cayman Islands a strong contender in the Caribbean," said Brown.

The first order of business for Brown when he took up the Cayman Islands post last year was to assess the level of his talent pool, which is drawn primarily from the university and college system in the United States and also from the Cayman local amateur leagues.

Brown said that, to his surprise, he found an almost identical level of all-around ability to that in his native Jamaica.

"The talent here in the Caymans is the same, basically, as what you find in Jamaica," he told FIFA.com, pointing out that the 42,000-population (compared to Jamaica's 2.5 million-plus) is still something of a stumbling block.

"The players come from the same hard backgrounds as many in Jamaica and they have the same speed and agility and the ability to improvise which comes from playing on ruddy pitches from an early age.

"The level of raw talent is alive and well here," Brown added. "What I need to do is instill a level of professionalism and make the players see that football can be a future for them. Look how many Trinidadian players and Jamaicans are playing in England right now!"

Training before and after work, the Cayman players have to make big sacrifices as they get set for their February 3 away date with Bermuda at the National Sports Centre.

Bermuda are currently nearly 50 places above the Cayman team on the FIFA World Ranking list.

Brown said that although the Cayman players, like most of the Bermuda team, are nearly all amateurs he said that the necessary sacrifices are no different than when he was playing. back in the 1970s and '80s

"Back then it was the same," he said. "We would have to drag ourselves out of bed at eight, train a bit and go off to work. At the end of the workday we would train again until the sun went down. At least now we have floodlights so we can go longer."

Although Cayman football is in the lower reaches of the region's pecking order, Brown is full of confidence ahead of the away leg in Bermuda and plans to ensure his charges as ready as they can be. "Make no mistake, we have some very good players here in the islands," he continued.

"Most of them play in the US university system which can be a sight better than the domestic leagues throughout the Islands."

Two players Brown mentions for possible futures in the professional game are Donald Solomon and Tex Whitelock ¿ both central defenders.

"Ideally, you want to come back from that first leg with all the points and a lot of goals and get the people out of their houses and build excitement. But we don't live in an ideal world and if we can't come back with all the points we want to make sure we get one and don't leave them all there," Brown said ahead of the first leg.

Brown's football exploits also brought him into contact with football lover ¿ and musical genius ¿ Bob Marley.

Having played for and coached the famous Boys Town club side in Kingston, Brown had the opportunity to play with the then up-and-coming Bob Marley, whose star would rise not on the pitch but on the stage.

"Sometimes I wonder if he loved football even more than music," Brown said fondly remembering the reggae king. "In Trenchtown he always loved to run out with the team, even after he achieved global fame. Football was his passion and he was no soft touch on the pitch either! The man could play."

On Monday Brown and his players arrived in Jamaica for a week-long training camp ahead of the Bermuda match.

Brown took 25 players to Jamaica

The squad are using this trip to further develop and strengthen the fitness level and the skills of the players going to participate in the upcoming World Cup 2010 qualifying games.

The first leg of the Bermuda tie will be in Bermuda on February 3 with the return leg destined for the Truman Bodden Stadium in Cayman.

The squad coming to Bermuda by will be accompanied by head of delegation Mark Campbell, trainer Thiago Cunha, assistant coaches Gillie Seymour and Bobby McLaren as well as physiotherapist Al Bartice and equipment manager Donald Solomon.