'Aim for World Cup’

Press, 11 October 1979, Page 40

' Aim for World Cup’

New Zealand must continue to have the World Cup as its main soccer aim, according to the new: national director of coaching ifor the sport, Mr Allan Jones. Mr Jones has just begun a three-year contract with the! New Zealand Football Association and one of his immediate tasks will be to manage the national B team,! which will compete at the 'Oceania tournament in New: (Caledonia in December. : He feels it would be iwrong for New Zealand to! set its sights lower than the j sport’s greatest event. “If we aim for anything ! less than the World Cup, we I are selling ourselves short,” ) said Mr Jones. “I think it is essential that we aim high.” At the same time, Mr ! Jones was quick to point out : the value of playing against teams from the Oceania region. ; “We have got to continue

to compete in Oceania. It is very good for development. But if we are not meeting the required standards for top level competition we must examine why.’” Mr Jones, a 39-year-old Englishman, was a player with Maidstone. Bath and ■Cheltenham. He is full of praise for the job done by Mr Barrie Truman when he )was the national coach before taking a position with jthe Rothmans League club, Wellington Diamond United. “He has done a magnificent job for New Zealand soccer and I am convinced he has set New Zealand on ;a sound course for the future." said Mr Jones. He regards his main objective as building on the earlier work of Mr Truman. He hopes. to. see an improved standard of coaching and. with it. a lift in playing standards at all levels, but more especially in the youth age group.