Having successfully guided the national side through to the third (and final) qualifying stage for the FIFA World Cup 2006, St. Clair was in England to keep tabs on his English-based players and look into facilities and techniques used by top English clubs.

"The FA have taken good care of me while I’ve been in England," said Bertille. "I’ve enjoyed being here and welcome this opportunity - it’s been a hectic week!"

He paid visits to West Ham United, Arsenal and Manchester United, and the Trinidad and Tobago coach was certainly impressed by what he saw.

"I went to Carrington [Manchester United] recently – amazing!", he exclaimed blowing out his cheeks. "They have table tennis, and a wall of lights to help vision and reactions."

The relationship between St Clair and former England manager Graham Taylor was also maintained, with several meetings discussing the match fitness and form of Trinidad and Tobago’s English-based players such as Shaka Hislop, Stern John, and Marvin Andrews

The two men first met when Aston Villa, then under Taylor, toured Trinidad and Tobago and Bertille’s protégé Dwight Yorke was spotted whilst playing for his college side.

Unfortunately the striker, currently at Birmingham, hasn’t played a competitive match for the national side since 2001, but St Clair is desperate to convince his man to return for a shot at World Cup glory.

"He’s been unhappy with his treatment in the past, but the country needs him now," he said with the passion in his voice clearly evident.

"He was my protégé - from age six Dwight belonged to my academy. When Villa toured in Trinidad they spotted him, and he had trials with Aston Villa at 17.

"I then got £12,000 for Dwight Yorke, whilst Villa got £12 million!", he added referring to Yorke’s move from Villa to Old Trafford. "But money wasn’t a problem - all I wanted was to get the young man out."

Whilst still hopeful of getting his most famous export to return to the international fold, St Clair is trying to raise a new generation of Dwight Yorkes, and points to players such as Theobold, Haines and Keon Daniel, who is set for trials with Manchester United at the end of January, as evidence of the continued development of talent back home – something which is very close to Bertille’s heart.

Following a leg break which prematurely ended his footballing career at 17, and still makes him limp today, he started teaching PE, first at Primary and then at Secondary level with the Signal Hill school in Tobago. He also started the St Clair academy in 1976, which now coaches more than 200 children from age six upwards.

His success with both – the academy has won four Tobago League titles whilst the College side has won seven inter-collegiate titles since 1981 – eventually led to his appointment as national team coach in 1997.

Having reached 35th in the FIFA rankings and the semi-finals of the Gold Cup (the CONCACAF equivalent of the European Championship), however, he lost his job in 2000, but returned earlier this year following a loss of form which saw Trinidad and Tobago slump to 75th in the FIFA rankings.

Now Trinidad and Tobago have a fantastic opportunity to qualify for a World Cup for the first time in their history, and kick off the third stage of qualifying with a titanic clash against the USA in February, just after the carnival in Trinidad.

"Oh boy, the stadium will be full for that", predicts St Clair. "We’ve never beaten the USA at senior level, so I’m really looking forward to it."

It is a massive challenge for St Clair and his men, but he is willing to do everything to ensure they give it their best shot.

"We are going to have a nutritionist – some of the guys only want to eat chicken and chips," he says with a genial smile, implying some of the problems mixing superstars with those playing in lower leagues.

"With me it’s a level playing field," he responds, "I wouldn’t accept Prima-Donnas. Being a school teacher for so long you know how to bring them down, and build them up again step by step."

Mexico are the other major threat in the qualifying group, with Costa Rica, Panama, and Guatemala completing the six.

"We play Mexico in the last game, but hopefully we’ll have qualified by then!", exclaims Bertille.

And with three nations gaining automatic qualification and one entering into a play-off, we could well be seeing Trinidad and Tobago gracing the World’s biggest stage in the summer of 2006 – with or without Dwight Yorke.