ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, May 26, 2009 – Former West Ham United defender, Tommy Taylor arrived in Grenada on Tuesday to begin his coaching stint with the national team, the Spice Boyz.

The former FA Cup winner has accepted the offer to work the national team as it prepares for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States in July.

His first assignment will be an international friendly against Panama on June 10 at the National Stadium.

It has been reported that Taylor is in the process of persuading Blackburn Rovers’ Jason Roberts, Southampton’s Bradley Wright-Phillips and Jermaine Beckford (Leeds) to join him for the Panama game. Shalrie Joseph of the New England Revolution in the US Major League Soccer will also join the team.

“I was out there doing some coaching with the young kids out there for a few weeks,” said Taylor. “When I got back I got a phone call asking me if I wanted the job.
“I couldn’t say no to that, could I?” he told the UK’s Boston Standard.

Taylor had previously coached in Jamaica, New Zealand, Canada and Scandanavia.

Roberts is no stranger to the national team, having played for the Spice Boyz in the 2006 World Cup Qualifying Tournament.

Wright-Phillips plays for Southampton and is the son of Arsenal and England player Ian Wright, and younger brother to Manchester City’s and England player Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Beckford plays as a striker for Leeds United in League One of the The Football League.

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