Bermuda's interim national coach Kenny Thompson is hoping Bermuda FootballAssociation bosses give him more time to take the team to greater heights.

Thompson, in his third stint after two short turns in charge, now has his eyes on the Digicel competion which is just weeks away after Bermuda's World Cup qualifying dreams were shattered in Sunday's 2-0 loss to Trinidad. His contract runs out after the Digicel tournament which begins in August.

Thompson, who only rejoined the Bermuda national side in May and pulled off a shock 2-1 win in Trinidad, told the Mid-Ocean News: "We have achieved a lot in two months but there is a lot more work to do so a far chance for anyone in this position is something way beyond Digicel.

"I definitely would like to continue in the role and feel that there is more to come.

"We are very pleased with the performance of the players, in a short space of time we have been able to get them to the point where we can seriously be competitive against a top opponent in our region. That bodes well.

"At the end of the day we are extremely proud of what the players did and the country showed its support by coming in their thousands."

He felt his players performed well against Trinidad in a difficult tie but a poor refereeing decision tipped the balance when highly-rated Guatemalan official Carlos Batres allowed the visitors to take a free-kick while Bermuda was in the midst of a substitution.

However in the aftermath of the defeat, which came after a heroic 2-1 win in Trinidad, some have openly voiced criticism over Thompson's tactics.

There were questions over the wisdom of the fateful substitution which led to the second goal. Midfielder Kwame Steede was still making his way to the touchline to be replaced by Jemeiko Jennings when the free-kick from the left was pumped in and Southampton star Stern John headed in the winner.

Thompson said: "Everybody is an expert in hindsight. We have a lot of people who watch a lot of football and I am willing to bet you will not see in a top football match with top officials a substation handled in that manner."

He said the player entering the field was normally given reasonable time to get into a reasonable position.

"In this situation, and I have seen the video, there were 12 players on the pitch when the kick was taken.

"So rather than be critical of the timing of the substitution we have to look at the mistake and mismanagement by the referee and fourth official."

He said that substitution, like the Stephen Astwood substitution, had been delayed several times because Bermuda were defending corners and the like.

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