@$:BODY-TIMES:NATIONAL coach Kenny Thompson could be about to axe the old guard as he builds for the future.BODY-TIMES-2:And he said Bermuda must look beyond the next World Cup as it builds for the 2014 campaign.Thompson has spent a lot of time with the Under-23s ¿ even coaching them twice a day ahead of the Olympic qualifiers in Cuba which ended in disappointment.He believes a minimum of six or seven of those have the quality to break through to the senior level but he has been hamstrung by lack of fixtures to help him judge the talent.He told The Mid-Ocean News: "With the Under-23 group we have some young players who have recent international experience and they can be joined by some of the older more experienced players to make a good group which can stay as competitive as possible for the next World Cup qualification. But at the same time we should also be looking further than that into the Digicel competition as well as the World Cup qualifications for 2014."Personally I don't see the need to focus everything on players who are close to 30 at this time and have them compete in the World Cup qualifications for 2010 and then have to start all over again for 2014."Bermuda needed to find a balance between the younger group and more experience players to form have a core group for the immediate campaign as well as the next one, said Thompson."I wouldn't want to rule anyone out but if you are an older player the question becomes 'how much of an impact can that player make?' If it is a great impact then certainly, that player has to be involved. If the impact is minimal you have to question should you take a player who makes a minimal impact and is ready to leave the international stage and replace him with a younger player who can make a similar impact and who has many more years in front of him."But it comes down to activity. Now is the time to arrange matches to see what they can do on the full international level. You have to put them in that arena to find out for sure."Some may have been tempted to stereotype Thompson as a cautious coach after he packed the midfield for friendlies in the summer. But he made it clear flair is what's needed to break the deadlock in tight tactical encounters.Thompson said the new Technical Director needed to be able to think long-term to develop players necessary for the modern game."The game is getting faster. With that in mind what type of training is required to produce a faster player." He said the Ronaldinhos, Robbens and Messis of the world were highly prized and Bermuda needed to nurture its own individualists."It is just like any other profession ¿ you look at what is required for that profession ¿ currently and in the future."They are not only faster but their technical skills are such they can make an individual action that can make the difference."Collective play is very, very important but with defences getting stingier and stingier and more sophisticated now there is a requirement for a soloist who can make the breakthrough at any moment."He said some of Bermuda' regional rivals were already on to this. Recently Thompson's Under-23 side suffered a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of hosts Cuba in an Olympic qualifier."Some of the Cuba players were absolutely superb ¿ technically, tactically and physically. I don't believe we have any one player who is on the level of any of the Cuba players who I saw."They had players who understood not only collective play but players who had the ability to be an individual at any moment."He said a Technical Director should be able to encourage coaches to develop natural flair in youngsters."What happens at the younger ages, and I coach at the younger ages, so I hear it often ¿ we are too busy saying 'don't dribble, don't use an individual action'. But based on what's happening at the top now we should be encouraging it."We have to work with what we have currently but our best bet is to focus on players who are under ten. That is not to say we disregard anyone older than that."The best technical years are anywhere between seven and 11. But many times a player who has turned 11 is a little bit behind the eight ball already. It is very difficult to catch up."But his coaching trips abroad to football Meccas such as Holland have opened his eyes.BODY-TIMES:"Basically we have no idea of what these young players are capable of at this age. Our players are already behind at that age and probably won't catch up." Getting the best out of a youngster required the best coaches, the best facilities and plenty of matches said Thompson."The Cuban team is a full-time team. They live at the technical centre ¿ that's what they do. I don't think that the money that we have been given has that in mind but it is something I would like to see us do ¿ to take players and put them into a full-time training programme."At the moment Thompson said it was still a problem getting access to the National Sports Centre with other sports often booking the venue."Sometimes we have to go to a school field or a club field."He says the new artificial surface planned for Gym field in Prospect will be very important in improving standards."It will allow the work to be done in the home of football so we can plan long term without worrying about over-use."