CHENNAI: Chennaiyin FC (CFC) coach Bozidar Bandovic can be a hard taskmaster. In his first online media conference on Tuesday, the 52-year-old coach laid out the plans for the pre-season, saying eight weeks of hard training are enough to prepare the team.
CFC will begin practising on September 26 at the Utorda ground in Goa after completing their quarantine and will get close to two months of pre-season before their first match against Hyderabad FC on November 23.
"As a coach I don't agree with a long pre-season. I think eight weeks are enough to make my players run for 90 minutes. It's not important how long you work but what you do in that stipulated period. I want my players to give their best in every session. I will push them to their limits. Physically, mentally and tactically we have to be up there. That way we will have a good attitude," Bandovic said.
A major reason behind Chennaiyin's struggle last season was the lack of goals. Bandovic said that the likes of Lukasz Gikiewicz and Vladimir Koman could be the answers to CFC's goal-scoring problems. "I can't speak about last season as I wasn't there. But this is a new team and we have quality players in our side who can adapt to my strategy and perform. I feel these (foreign) players can score. The foreigners are new to the league but they have quality. We chose the players who have personality. The foreigners need to make a difference on the field and have a positive influence on the domestic players - training and communication. They are leaders and should show character," the Montenegro coach asserted.
CFC will also focus on building a team spirit during the pre-season. "I want to make a team. A team is not about winning or losing, it is about supporting each other. Another thing is honesty. When a player makes a mistake, he shouldn't be ashamed of admitting it. That way we can build trust which is important in building a team," Bandovic said.
Most of Chennaiyin's rivals have already started playing competitive matches during their pre-season to prepare themselves. CFC are looking to play 6-7 friendly games to give enough practice to their players. "We want to dominate the game and need to find the right balance between defence and attack. In order to play that kind of football, we are looking at playing 6-7 friendlies but we need to see which teams are free because of the prevailing Covid situation. Also we need to give rest to the players because recovery is very important in today's football," Bandovic said.
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