Canadian Men’s National Team Head Coach Stephen Hart met with the media via conference call on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the national team’s preparations for their upcoming friendly against Armenia in Cyprus on February 29th.

And if there is an overarching theme for the first of the Canada’s two friendlies ahead of their next round of World Cup qualifying, it was that Canadian national team supporters can expect to see a roster heavy on Europe-based players for the match against Cyrprus, who are ranked 46th in the FIFA World Rankings.

“I’m trying to stay away from any of the MLS players. They have only just begun their preseason and it will be very difficult for them to fly all the way to Cyrprus and play a game. The only way I will utilize players from the MLS is if I am really stuck for players at certain positions. The MLS players really aren’t playing any games, so it’s difficult for them to come and step into an International game,” said Hart.

While the roster for the Armenia game has not yet been announced, it is expected that the core of the Canadian team will be made up of the Europe-based players that have represented Canada over the last year and a half. That said, Hart did admit that injuries or club seasons extended by promotion and relegation battles could potentially deprive him of a few players.

“A lot if it depends on whether or not any of them will be involved in promotion and relegation. I mean that sort of extends their season a little bit. All these factors have to be sorted out. Most of the players will be finished by around mid-May. They will get a couple of days off, but I have told them not to plan for any sort of extended holiday, as we will be going straight into camp.”

As he has done many times in the past, Hart stated clearly that he could only hope that his key players would remain fit and would be playing regularly with their clubs. With Kevin McKenna and Atiba Hutchinson being two key players who missed Canada’s 2011 World Cup qualifying matches, Hart highlighted the positive news that both were now fit and fighting for starting positions with their clubs.

“It’s not secret that we have played our best when players are actually playing consistently (with their clubs). It’s really been good to see Marcel de Jong and Simeon Jackson getting regular playing time. McKenna is back in action and Atiba is back on the bench at PSV and hopefully he’ll be back in action as well. We really need the players playing and we really need the players at their best physically and mentally.”

While the likes of Patrice Bernier, Julian de Guzman, Terry Dunfield and Ashtone Morgan are unlikely to suit up for Canada against Armenia, Hart did admit that he could call up some new faces in order to test drive a few rising talents ahead of the World Cup qualifying fixtures in the latter half of the year. He also stated that there are still a couple of positions on the team that are up for grabs, but declined to go into more detail on the topic.

“I think you will see a couple (of new faces). Hopefully I can get a couple of youngsters. We are having some problems with that in that two of the players that I wanted to invite have slight injuries at the moment. We are going to play it by ear and leave it for as long as possible.” 

Amid rumours of a possible transfer to Bayern Munich, Hart was once again asked about the status of very much in demand Blackburn Rover forward Junior Hoilett and he admitted that the prodigiously talented youngster was unlikely to suit up for Canada against Armenia.

“The only thing I can say is what I have said in the past. Junior has indicated that he wants to be settled into a contract and recognized that he is established before he makes any considerations about national teams. And such a move would sort of relax his mind. Of course he would have the added tension of proving himself at Bayern. But it would certainly probably bring a different perspective to everything. And if it does happen, we can discuss it and deal with that.”

The Canadian National Team skipper was more optimistic about the chances of Villareal midfielder Jonathan de Guzman putting on the newly designed Canadian kit in times for Canada’s next crucial round of World Cup qualifiers. That said, Hart admitted that the Canadian Soccer Association was still working through the technical issues pertaining to De Guzman’s eligibility to play for Canada.

“It’s not about the merits of playing for Canada. I think it is a matter of all the issues outside of that. We’re very hopeful. We just need all of the processes to be in place on our end and to keep working on it, so we can hopefully speed up the whole process.”

Hart was also asked about the possibility of calling up Brisbane Roar midfielder Issey Nakajima-Farran for any Canada’s upcoming fixtures and he was generally very positive about the recent play of the 24 times capped Canadian International.

“He in particular has done well this year. He seems to have settled in and been in fine form. Of course, I know Issey very well. I actually gave him his debut with Canada and I will keep monitoring him. There is a lot of competition at the position he plays, but I will keep monitoring things. Unfortunately, he is a real distance away, where it’s not easy to see him and bring him in for an International. But I will keep an eye on him and how he does.”

When asked to discuss the controversy related to the announcement that Canada will play all of its 2012 World Cup qualifying matches in Toronto at BMO Field, Hart was candid in stating that the decision was made mostly with an eye to limiting the amount of travel his players would have to do, with Toronto being the most pragmatic location for Europe-based players in particular.

“If you were to sit back and look at it, there were a number of factors. We tried to take everything into consideration of course. One, our players have expressed over and over that they are not comfortable on artificial surfaces, so that ruled certain options out. And when you look at the travel and the places that we have to play, it made sense to travel from Toronto. The other potential locations that we looked at, specifically on the East Coast, it was neither here nor there in terms of travel distance. But you had the added difficulty of our own players not knowing the pitch, etc. and not really being familiar with the surroundings.”