The Boss Discusses Tactics, Injuries And Substitutions That Earned His Side A Fifth Successive Win In The League…

On the constantly changing formation…

We were the same team in the initial stages of the season, because we were getting results and at the same time we were getting rest as well. At that point, it was easy to maintain the team.

But losing three players who have been playing so much in Erik, Miku and Dimas meant we had to change a lot of things. My players are giving their best in every position they play and of course, you cannot demand the same level of football from them in every game, because it’s quite difficult to maintain that.

We used Sunil in midfield at the start of the first half when he normally plays up front, and asked Chencho to play as a number nine when he plays better on the side. But the boys are giving their very best to get the result and we are very happy because we got the three points.

On Miku’s injury…

I hope that it’s not an injury that causes us to lose a player for a long time. We have a squad and it’s working well for us. It was just coincidental that Dimas is suspended, and injuries have happened to Miku and Erik.

On Chencho’s performance…

Chencho is a young player who wants to grow. He is trying to help us a lot and has very good qualities for a counter-attacking type of game. He is trying to get better with keeping possession of the ball and he has been working on that. I am very happy with his development since the start of the season. He brings in some important things to our game, and he needs to keep working.

On the substitutions that made the difference…

We didn’t want to use Erik today, because he is coming back from an injury. He wasn’t practicing with us for three weeks, because of the international break and then the injury to his toe, and we weren’t willing to demand that effort from him.

But after the first half, we felt that the team needed his help in the midfield, because Sunil was helping us there initially and he isn’t that comfortable in that kind of position. He wanted to play and told me that I can use him if I wanted him to. At the end, I’m happy because he helped us win those three points and he didn’t get any further issues with the injury that he had. Semboi is a natural number nine, unlike Sunil and Chencho, and so he helped us in that specific position.

On the effect of the international break on his side’s momentum…

We can’t say much about that. I have worked on the other side as well with national teams where you have to call up players and you want to work with them for as many days as possible. We understand and respect the position of the Federation.

It’s clear for us that we had a good momentum going before the international break and fortunately we have stayed in that rhythm by getting the six points after the break as well. We are happy with the results that we have got so far, and we have to keep working hard and fighting for them.