Ilievski tinkering too much?
Bangladesh came to the SAFF Championship as one of the favourites, but the booters are already seemingly suffering from lack of confidence and motivation which was reflected on their performance against Pakistan in the first match.
Standing on the verge of the must-win situation against Nepal, the players yesterday looked dejected and lifeless, as if they have just come here only for participation. Reportedly the players can't even encourage themselves as the coach Nikola Ilievski keeps on experimenting with the squad.
Despite playing five to six practice matches, the Macedonian coach has yet to finalise his playing eleven and no of the players is yet to gain the faith of Ilievski.
“The coach is doing everything he thinks right regarding the eleven while we feel pressure as no one is sure whether he will be in the starting eleven for next match” said a member of the squad seeking anonymity.
“The SAFF Championship is a big tournament for us, yet we can't motivate ourselves due to the lack of coach's confidence on us,” said the player.
Manager Arif Khan Joy also said the coach should first settle his playing eleven to grow confidence among the players like George Kotan did during the 2003 SAFF Championship triumph.
“Before the start of SAFF Championship in 2003, it was clear to all players who were going to play in the first eleven and they prepared themselves but that is absent here,” said Joy, who was a member of that winning Bangladesh squad.
However, the coach himself took a different view on the issue, “You may be surprised to see the playing eleven but what I am doing is for finding the right combination.
Comments