'Working hard is the only way up'

Bangladesh national football team's new head coach Andrew Ord said he is not a wizard and he doesn't have any magic wand to change things immediately yet he wants to bring Bangladesh football out of the gloom by finding out promising young players.

The British-born Australian was officially unveiled before the media as the new coach for a one-year term, which should see him guide the side in two important competitions – the Bangabandhu Gold Cup in December and the SAFF Championship next year.

The 37-year-old, who has already started working with the preliminary squad of the U-23 team yesterday morning, will have his first assignment in the AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers next month.

It is the first time that Ord will guide a national team as his coaching career has thus far been associated with clubs in Thailand, Myanmar and Australia even though he has reportedly worked with the Australian national team as its opposition scout.

“The job is same. You have got to coach the team, to assist the players. The way Bangladesh play is not like the way England or USA or Brazil play. You have got to create your own identity and own style. We want to play the style the players feel to comfort with,” Ord said during his official presentation at the BFF House.

“Working hard in the training ground is the only way. I am not a wizard and I don't have a magic wand. I can't make things happen out of nothing. We need to find good players, we need to work with them, give them some confidence and belief and get them enjoying the game again,” added Ord.

Ord believes Bangladesh should not be 193 in FIFA Ranking as Bangladesh has to be 23 good footballers. 

“I'm sure we will climb up the rankings because no way we should be 193rd in the world. I saw the game last night [Federation Cup final], there were some good players. We want to improve and help the country climb out of this position,” opined Ord.

National Teams Committee chairman and BFF vice president Kazi Nabil Ahmed explained the reason behind appointing a coach who has no prior experience at the dug-out of a national team. 

“We wanted a European coach who has experience of working in Asia. We had CVs of coaches from Italy and Spain too. As he was an opposition scout for Australian national team, Ord knows how the other teams of Asia play football. Besides, he had worked with clubs in Thailand and Myanmar, so we thought he is good for Bangladesh,” said Nabil.

BFF president Kazi Salahuddin, however, urged the footballers play with more dedication.

“It is about time Bangladeshi footballers took charge of their own future as we can only provide them with facilities and coaches but we can't play them on the pitch. At the end of the day, it is the game for the players and coach, so I will request the footballers to take their job very seriously,” said Salahuddin.

BFF vice president Tabith Awal, general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag and member Satyajit Das Rupu were, among others, present at the press conference.