Not distracted by Gayle comments - Gibson

Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has said Chris Gayle's criticism of him in a public statement will not distract him from getting the West Indies team into shape. Gayle, in a release, slammed the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and Gibson for what he claimed was unjust treatment that had resulted in his exclusion from the team. Gayle wrote that while he was not retiring from international cricket, he would seek opportunities outside the West Indies since he could no longer wait for the board to resolve its differences with him. Gibson said the matter now rested with the board and that neither he, nor the team, will be affected by Gayle's comments.

"I don't want to say 'no comments' but it's a board matter now," Gibson said. "Chris knows that and it's got nothing to do with me anymore. We had a meeting last weekend. Chris knows my stance. If he has come out and made these statements it's up to him.

"The board knows what my feeling is on the whole thing. We are trying to build a team, a team that can get competitive and start to win. Everybody has a part to play in that and Chris Gayle, too, has a part to play in that. If he has decided - and it seems so from a lot of things he has said - that he doesn't feel he can be a part of that, he is choosing his own path and that's up to him. Whatever Chris or anyone else has to say, that is outside the team bubble completely."

Gayle was scathing in his criticism of Gibson. "He [Gibson] is a man who sought my advice when things were not going well," he said. "I could never imagine he would deliberately try to destroy my character, reputation and livelihood or question my commitment to West Indies cricket. I would not have believed, until I saw it in black and white, that he would devalue my leadership and try to destroy me without giving me a chance to respond."

In his reaction, Gibson reiterated he was concentrating solely on his team's performance on the field. "It's been going on for a while and I am trying my best not to get distracted by it. I have 13 other players here and the ODI squad and a whole lot of bigger issues to deal with.

"I believe - and you might say otherwise - there are signs of improvement in our team. We are fielding well, the bowling unit is good - we have bowled India out twice. We need the batsmen to support our bowlers and if they start doing that we have the makings of a side capable of winning matches."

Gayle has been a big part of West Indies cricket for the last ten years and has been an influence on some of the young players in the current squad. When West Indies beat India in the fifth ODI, Marlon Samuels, who hit the winning runs, ran all the way to the stands to celebrate the victory with Gayle. While individual players may deal with the matter differently, the team, as a collective unit, will not get distracted by the current impasse, Gibson said.

"You can't stop a guy from being friendly with Chris or going on to the internet and talking to him. I can assure you that we don't sit and have team meetings and discuss Chris Gayle; we discuss cricket. Gayle is not a subject of discussion in team meetings."

Gibson insisted West Indies were improving. Focus and direction have been his watchwords since he took over as coach in January 2010 and he said the concepts had sunk in with the team. "I said this to the guys: 'I have come to build a team and you have to look at all the ingredients you have to build that team. And that team, the end product, might not include all you guys sitting in this room because we have got to have a direction.'

"People have to understand the direction the team needs to go in to be successful. If everybody does what they want then there is no team.

"So the team has to have a focus and I believe I have given them the focus. And direction. You can see the energy on the field. Chris is not in that team and obviously from what he is saying he doesn't agree with the direction the team is taking and yet the team is improving. So he must ask himself that question too."