Retired pro footballer Kyle Lightbourne admittedly has fond memories of playing against El Salvador.

The last time he suited up for Bermuda against the Central American nation he scored the winning goal at the National Stadium in the 1992 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Now, more than a decade later, he is back, ready to take them on again - but that's not his real mission.

Lest anyone be mistaken about his motive for making himself available for senior national duty once more, it's not to relive past personal glories or to seek new ones.

Regardless of how far Bermuda go in their current World Cup campaign, Lightbourne will consider his mission accomplished when he passes on all he has to offer to those taking over the Island's football reins from the likes of himself, Shaun Goater and David Bascome.

That's why he is back!

“It wasn't about missing football . . . what spurred me was that I have enough experience that I can help the youngsters who are coming through.

“That was the main reason for my decision to come out - to try and help them and give them as much advice as I can,” he told The Royal Gazette after linking up with his young team-mates in training at the National Sports Centre yesterday.

Terming the work-out “quite good”, he said “the guys look fit and ready” for their tour of Panama and Nicaragua starting today.

“It's just a matter of them staying focused and concentrating and taking the information that's given to them and turning it into positive results,” he added.

Just in from England where he resides, the 35-year-old was back in flight early this morning among Bermuda's 20-man squad off to contest three friendlies in the two Central American countries ahead of their second-round World Cup-qualifying battle against El Salvador.

Lightbourne, who plied his trade with a range of English teams including Coventry City, Stoke, Walsall, Scarborough and finally Macclesfield, could not over-emphasise the necessity of such fact-finding exercises.

“These friendlies are the right thing to do. It's a very good idea. The last time I went to El Salvador we faced a pitch where the grass was a lot longer than what we were used to and there were different other things to deal with,” he recalled.

“So this is all background work being done to prepare for the El Salvador games in June.”

As for his mentoring those less exposed to international football, he hopes to bring some stability to the potentially-stormy circumstances which teams experience away from home.

“I think I'll look at it in a totally different way now, having played in England since my first time in El Salvador.

“When we went there before it was a daunting challenge. I probably won't see it like that now and hopefully I can have a calming influence around the guys and try and guide them in the right direction.”

Regarding what he would consider a heartening outcome for Bermuda in these warm-up fixtures, he said the most vital thing is “to try to come out without losing” while gaining the maximum experience.

He cautioned fellow national players to expect “a totally different game” against Nicaragua as the tables would now be turned with the latter being on home soil and seeking revenge for their two losses here recently.

Despite hanging up his boots professionally at the end of last season, Lightbourne is committed to Bermuda for the duration of the Island's World Cup journey and anticipates hitting top stride in time for the mid-June matches against El Salvador.

“I think I have given myself enough time to get fit. Hopefully, within five or six weeks I could be totally fit and ready to go.”