Yesterday's 9-0 win was supposed to be Clyde Best's last game as Bermuda's technical director -- but talks with Sports Minister Dennis Lister may yet throw him a lifeline.

Best and Lister confirmed yesterday that they met for a discussion last Friday about the future of Bermuda football and of Best himself.

Best's three-year contract expires at the end of the month and Bermuda Football Association have already announced they do not plan to renew it.

That would mean the former West Ham player went out in a blaze of glory yesterday and will not be involved when the national team continue their World Cup campaign next month.

But the involvement of Government could mean top-level pressure is being applied to the BFA to alter their decision on Best -- a decision which is unpopular with his fellow coaches in the national team set-up.

Lister said yesterday that as well as last week's one-to-one meeting with Best, he had also had previous meetings with BFA officials.

The minister was not revealing yesterday where he personally stood on the Best issue.

"Even before the Clyde Best contractural situation came up, I was having discussions with the BFA about the future of football,'' said Lister.

"Football is a big sport here and we just want to know what direction it is moving in. What I want to see is that the right thing is done for football.

Personalities should not come into it.'' Best said Lister called him last week and after their discussion he felt progress had been made. "The minister called me and said he wanted to talk about it,'' said Best. "We think we may be able to come to some sort of agreement.'' Best declined to talk about details like whether a contract extension for the duration of the World Cup campaign was on the table or whether a change of job title had been discussed.

But he did add: "It's got to be something that I would be happy with for me to accept.'' Best said yesterday he had no idea whether yesterday's thumping victory would mark his last involvement with the national squad.

News of the talks between Best and Lister has broken in the absence of BFA president Neville Tyrrell, who was away in Trinidad yesterday, where he was serving as a match commissioner.

Tyrrell also missed the first leg in the BVI as he was acting as a FIFA commissioner in Barbados.

Last week, when asked about Best's future, Tyrrell said: "No decision has been made about Mr Best, that's all I am able to say right now.'' Agony and ecstacy: BVI goalkeeper Desrie Butler can't believe what's happening as Bermuda's substitutes Thomas Carter, John Barry Nusum and Andrew Rahman celebrate Nusum's second goal of the match in injury time.