BERMUDA national football coach Kenny Thompson has backed his newcomers to fill the voids left by the experienced senior players who have been ruled out of Bermuda's Digicel Caribbean Cup campaign in Cayman Islands next week.

Bermuda will be without key performers such as skipper Omar Shakir and defensive stalwarts Kevin Richards and Kofi Dill due to injury, work commitments and fatigue respectively.

In their absence Thompson has called up Devonshire Cougars defender Kijuan Franks and Under-20 internationals Tumani Steede and Roger Lee.

Despite not having a full-strength squad at his disposal Thompson insists that Bermuda possess enough ammunition in their ranks to shoot down their group rivals Cayman, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Martin who are all ranked lower than Bermuda in the latest FIFA rankings.

In terms of attacking options Thompson is still well blessed with big names Khano Smith, John Barry Nusum, Damon Ming and Reggie Lambe all making the trip to the Caribbean.

"We've had to make some enforced changes due to the unavailability of some players, but the good thing about it all is that the changes enable new young players to come in," said Thompson.

"This is an opportunity for them to show they can become impact players. I have every confidence in the players who have been brought in ¿ players like Tumani Steede and Roger Lee can be impact players for us and are not squad members.

"When you're missing Omar, Kevin and Kofi it's always going to be difficult, but we go into the qualifiers with a real desire to reach the next round. We respect all of our opposition and we're confident we will come out of the competition with the results we're looking for."

The Gombey Warriors travel to Miami today for a three-day training camp and will play against United Soccer Leagues (USL-D1) team Miami FC Blues tomorrow, who have just finished bottom of their division.

l Bermuda's Digicel Cup schedule:

Wednesday, August 27: Bermuda v Antigua and Barbuda (5 p.m. local time)

Friday, August 29: Bermuda v Cayman Islands (7.15 p.m. local time)

Sunday, August 31: Bermuda v St.Martin (5 p.m. local time)

l The five group winners along with the four best second-place teams will be placed into three groups hosted by Guadeloupe, Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago from October 11 to November 9.

The top two teams from each second round group will join the defending Caribbean champions Haiti and the hosts Jamaica in the final round in December. The top four teams from the Digicel Caribbean Championship will qualify to the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.