Bangladesh football team head coach Jamie Day has set his sights on reaching the semi-final of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup, but admitted that fatigue is a concern as the national players have had a busy year.
Since the end of the premier league in August last year, the national players have been involved in World Cup qualifying matches, the Sheikh Kamal Club Cup and South Asian Games.
Subsequently, many of them performed below their usual standards in the TVS Federation Cup.
“It is a tough group [in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup], as Palestine are the highest ranked in the Cup, so it really comes down to the match against Sri Lanka. The first aim is to try get into the semi-final,” said the English coach, who is currently in the UK for vacation.
“The African teams are going to be very strong physically and if Burundi and Mauritius both qualify, they are ranked higher than us, so we just have to take one game at a time,” he added.
Day said the players do not have enough time to fully recover for the Gold Cup, but ruled out the possibility of making many changes to the squad as newcomers would not be able to adapt to his style in such a short time.
#Bangladesh drawn with #Palestine, #Sri #Lanka https://t.co/w3Yb23qqlZ
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) January 4, 2020
“Most are tired and fatigued, but they will need to play again and this is something I have stressed often. If we make many changes, it will affect the team because new players won’t have time to adapt to how we want to play,” he said.
“There might be a couple [of new faces], so we can get them involved in the set up. It is the players from the semi-final and final [of the Federation Cup] who had to be considered, from clubs we haven't picked from before,” the coach added.
Day also expressed concern about the future, as the players still have World Cup qualifier fixtures remaining, as well as the premier league and Saff Championship this year.
“They don't get any support on and off the pitch. They will not get any rest in the next 12 months either, so mentally they also get tired.”
When asked how the national booters can overcome this situation, Day replied: “The league season needs to be structured so players get a break at the end of the season, and no competition is added like the Sheikh Kamal Cup, and no international fixtures outside the windows. This is a start.”
The national team training camp is expected to begin Wednesday, with Day joining the team before then.
