After watching his team annihilate Montserrat, the beaming smile of coach Kenny Thompson spoke volumes.

?This is what counts!? exclaimed the jubilant coach, celebrating his maiden win at the helm of the senior national team.

?I have never felt any pressure in terms of getting results. I am a competitor and I like to win and I want to win as often as possible. As coach it is important to set long-term goals, and so within myself I am very comfortable with the overall progress in terms of trying to reach our goals.

?It is the public who crave for immediate results but I don?t let that worry me or change the way I work. When the results come then it is based on building on a firm foundation.?

Though from the outset the main objective was to win on home turf, Thompson could never have predicted a victory of such magnitude.

?We?ve seen the improvement and this was the match that we had to win. Being at home we wanted to do as much as we could to make the job a little easier for when we have to travel to Montserrat,? he said.

?Overall we are happy with the result, although the performance level could have been a lot higher. At the same time we understand that it is sometimes very difficult against such an opponent to perform at the highest level. But the most important thing was the result . . . we wanted to score a lot of goals and the team did just that.?

He added: ?What we haven?t said recently is that we were wasteful against Trinidad in the first match in which we created a lot of chances but didn?t score and were punished by losing by the odd goal.

?But in the second match we created less chances but scored two goals and so there was an improvement within two days. Now we have seen a further improvement in scoring 13 goals and maybe some will speak for the quality of the opponent . . . but 13 goals . . .?

The biggest challenge facing Thompson yesterday might have been keeping his players egos in check during the half-time break.

?We stressed to the players that it was important to keep the level high and not rest on a half-time score of 6-0 . . . to try to perform well and score more goals. That?s what we discussed at half-time and to the players? credit they scored seven goals in the second half.?

However, despite witnessing what was Bermuda?s biggest-ever win on the international stage, Thompson warned against complacency.

?It is not over until it is over,? he added.

Striker John Barry Nusum, much like his coach, was a picture of happiness, having scored a maiden hat-trick in a Bermuda team jersey.

?I think I had a very misleading game?, said the professional striker, downplaying his heroics.

?I don?t think we played as well as we should have in the first half. There is still a lot of things we have to work on.

?I am a team player and so I am not too concerned about scoring three goals. There is still a lot of work to do. Things are going to get a lot tougher.?

However, Nusum said he couldn?t wait to get another crack at the Montserrat defence later this month.

?I am looking forward to going to Montserrat and hopefully we won?t let 14 goals in,? he smiled. ?My fitness is not where it needs to be and so I still have a few things to work on. I just scored a few goals today, but I still have a lot to work on.?

Also pleased after finally opening his international scoring account was Ralph Bean Jr.

?I guess it was just an ice-breaker,? he said of his two strikes. ?You don?t score in every game but you just have to stick to the wicket and push it out.

?In all honesty it had never crossed my mind that I hadn?t scored in an international. But all goals are special and I am very proud and excited by the good turnout and atmosphere the crowd brought to the match. That was exactly what we needed as a country. And it feels very good overall to have been a part of the experience.?