Nathan Jones has hit out at the CONCACAF Gold Cup starting so late it has taken new signing Amari’i Bell away from a full pre-season with his new Luton team-mates.
The 27-year-old, who joined on a free from Blackburn last month, has been called up for the international tournament by Jamaica.
Bell made his debut for the Reggae Boyz against USA in March and then winning a second cap in the draw versus Serbia last month.
But should Jamaica make it to the final on August 2, it would like mean the full back will miss the start of the Championship opener against Peterborough fives days later.
“(I’m) not happy about it,” said Hatter boss Jones, adding: “How anyone starts a tournament in mid-July is absolutely bonkers because it affects the British game, but there are a lot of players because of where it is, based in the States.
“It doesn’t hinder us too much it just means that we won’t get him for the training. God-willing, he will get fit and get match practice but it won’t be with us and that is the only time because it is really key. He has done fantastically well in the four days we have had him and we are looking forward to working with him.”
Jamaica are in Group C and their campaign kick-offs against Suriname on Monday 12 July. They will face the winners of Prelims 8 on Friday 16 July, and Costa Rica in their final group game on Wednesday 21 July.
Luton start their pre-season campaign at Hitchin tomorrow where they will also be without their other international stars Tom Lockyer and Joe Morrell, who were part of Wales’ Euro 2020 squad, while goalkeeper Simon Sluga was an unused squad member with Croatia.
Lockyer, who also did not feature, is due back with the Hatters on Sunday, Morrell will return a week later and Sluga the week after that.
Jones said: “Tom gets one week (off), Joe gets two and Simon gets three. That is because Simon is away from his family all the time anyway so we spoke to him.
“Tom missed a lot of time anyway so he will join up with us on Sunday in York. Joe will be a week later. Everything is staggered and structured so we get them back at the right time.
“To be fair, it isn’t physical rest, it is probably mental rest really because they have been in camps and when you are away with international it’s different because you are in a hotel, you’re training twice a day and it is mentally so draining. Tom, Joe and Simon will need that mental rest.”
Strategist
Come on, NJ. Is it really that big a deal? The lad deserves his chance to play for his country. What if he is a little late finally settling into the Luton fold? If he’s good enough, he’ll mark his mark. I wouldn’t necessarily agree, but some might argue that if clubs are more important than players, maybe countries are more important than clubs.
Just watched NJ’s interview where, amongst other things, he talks about this issue and the Joe Morrell situation. Very impressive. As I said on an earlier occasion, whether you agree with everything he says or not, we’re lucky to have him.
And, of course, as I also said earlier, he’s lucky to have us! He’s wrong about Joe Morrell, his reaction to the Gold Cup timing is ott and he does apparently have favourites. But he’s got a lot of things right – including saving us from relegation and winning a top-half place! Live with the flak, NJ. You’ll get plenty of plaudits too – as long as you get enough points in the bag!