Bermuda coach Michael Findlay has conceded that Jamaica will be a difficult assignment in the opening World Cup qualifier tomorrow.

The Gombey Warriors kick-start their quest to book a ticket to the finals next year against the Reggae Boyz at Flora Duffy Stadium (7pm).

With Jamaica ranked seventh in Concacaf and Bermuda 21st, Findlay knows what to expect.

“Jamaica is going to be a tough task, as are Curaçao and Trinidad & Tobago,” the coach told The Royal Gazette.

“You’re in the final 12, you’re not getting any easy games. In Concacaf, you don’t get any easy games quite frankly these days with the new platform.

“We’re looking to compete most importantly to begin with. We feel strongly that we can do that.

“We know enough about Jamaica. The idea of what they bring to a game can be quite devastating at times, both from their ability to be in transition, their physicality and experience.

“They’re also well coached, so we have to be aware of all those scenarios, but really focused on what we’re going to do as a team.

“We’re looking somewhat different going into this final round because we’ve made a lot of progress, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.

“We’ve spent a lot of time focused on ourselves, focused on what we’re doing. That is from a tactical point of view and an overall mentality.”

Looking at Jamaica’s physical presence, with workhorses such as Michail Antonio leading the attack, the coach understands that this places his players at a disadvantage.

“You want to avoid those situations as much as you can,” Findlay said.

“There’s no secrets in football, really. That’s an area of the game where they can be very dominant.

“We’ve always had some challenges in our physicality. We’ve never had challenges in terms of our will to compete and fight, but the physicality of the game sometimes can overwhelm us.

“That’s why our technical ability is so important. To avoid physical confrontations is, hopefully, by possessing the ball in positions for a longer period of time, and taking advantage of the scenarios that you create.

“Most importantly, we have to keep ourselves in the game and in the fight from the very beginning.”

Findlay is delighted to have striker Nahki Wells available for what will be only his second appearance under the Canadian. With Kole Hall, one of the scorers in the 5-0 victory over Cayman Islands in June out injured, the 35-year-old is likely to lead the attack.

“The nice thing is first and foremost, he’s a great human,” the coach said.

“He really brings a quality to us, not just on the field but off the field. One of the main goals of this programme has been to raise our standards all the time.

“We talk about living the high-performance lifestyle all the time, and Nahki is the person who can show our players the way. It also gives our young players who are aspiring to be at this level an opportunity to see what it’s all about.

“When it comes right down to it, he brings qualities that we value greatly. He’s always been part of our discussions, we’ve managed his time as best as we could and, true to his words, he’s here.

“Nahki’s generally led the line when he's available. I don’t think that’s a secret to anybody.

“Losing someone like Kole Hall over the short term is unfortunate, but we do have players that can fit into that role. Nahki is in there, Enrique Russell is there, if we’re looking at leading-the-line type of players.

“If we decide to change that tactically, we have other players that can fit into those forward positions. We look forward to having Kole when he’s fit.”

Seasoned defender Danté Leverock is back in the squad after missing four matches through injury. Findlay spoke on the importance of recalling the former captain, with indications being that the 33-year-old may not feature against Jamaica.

“At this point, we wanted Danté back in the group, most importantly to reintegrate him from an emotional point of view,” the coach said.

“It was incredibly disappointing for him and we all felt for him because he has been a stalwart for us, on and off the field.

“He’s been in recovery, we’ve been watching him closely. He has been training and he has been playing some local matches in the preseason.

“We’re happy enough that we’re not going to endanger him. Will he be starting? That’s highly unlikely.

“What we want to do is slowly but surely integrate him back into the process because we have other games coming. We need to see that he can make some progress in the next coming weeks or months.”

The Canadian, who has taken charge of 20 matches since his appointment two years ago, challenged Bermudians to come out in their numbers.

“It’s time for Bermuda to come back into the fold, rise up and support the team like they’ve always done,’’ Findlay added.

“Bermuda has an incredible sporting culture. They want to see success and these players want to give them that success.

“If we get off to a good start, I think you’ll see that intensity, passion and support come out.

“I like nothing better than seeing stadiums full during international games. That means people care. Players have done their jobs to get us there because that’s what brings the fans out.”

• Video by Kyle McNeil