SAFF Championship: Stimac urges Blue Tigers to be 'clever and patient' against Sri Lanka

After a frustrating draw against 10-man Bangladesh, the Indian football team will look to lift the performance against Sri Lanka on Thursday here in Male in the ongoing SAFF Championship.

Fortunes in international matches fluctuate fast, and the Blue Tigers have learnt it the hard way. "We need to look forward. There are three matches left in the group stage. We were punished in the last match, and we need to improve," head coach Igor Stimac stated.

A lot of football is still left to be played in the tournament. But on the surface, the five-team format suggests that every match is a must-win for India to ensure a smooth passage to the final.

Sri Lanka, India's opponents, are yet to win a match -- having lost both to Bangladesh and Nepal. At the official pre-match press conference, Stimac said: "It's about patience, it's about attitude, and it's about the approach."

The coach did hint that he may bring in some changes in the starting XI after having a final look at the condition of the players. "We still have 24 hours to go. We will have a clear picture about the players in the evening after we finish the training session. At that time, we will get to know how the players are feeling, how much the legs are loaded," he averred.

Commenting on the final result against Bangladesh, Stimac said: "We have analysed our game against Bangladesh and we are not happy with the final result. We are two points from what we have to have in our kitty. So we need to do everything possible to win against Sri Lanka. We respect Sri Lanka as a team. I feel they could have two points from the two games they played. But they don't have any, and that's football."

"We need to be better defensively. If we can't score the second goal, we need to make sure that we don't concede the second goal. Man marking is extremely necessary when u play serious football, and we just cannot keep giving the balls away," the coach maintained.

The players had a morning stroll and exercise session on the beach, while the practice session was slated for the afternoon. Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu felt the most pertinent task at the moment is "to minimise the mistakes."

"It's not so easy when we come here. Playing at 4 pm isn't easy. Most of us have been here before with our respective clubs. We were here for almost two weeks, and are used to the conditions. It isn't unfamiliar. We know that we can't commit mistakes. That's the most important aspect, and we need to make sure that we use everything to our advantage. We need to go out and do our job - which is to win," he said.

Central defender Chinglensana Singh summed it perfectly. "We need to play to our strengths, and do our duties to the best of our abilities which will get us the desired result," he said.

( With inputs from ANI )

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