Changes on the cards as Dooley demands three points against Singapore

Bangladesh coach Thomas Dooley said he was “very angry” with the way his charges gifted goals to Malaysia in their opening FIFA ASEAN Cup match and demanded an immediate response against Singapore on Monday, with nothing less than victory satisfying the German-American.

After the 3-0 defeat to Malaysia, Bangladesh have little room for error. Dooley believes the Singapore match is their best opportunity to collect points from the tournament, with Indonesia, their final group-stage opponents, likely to present an even tougher challenge.

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Speaking to reporters during Sunday’s training session in Jakarta, Dooley expressed his frustration at the manner in which Bangladesh conceded against Malaysia.

“It makes me very angry that we gave them the opportunity to create a couple of chances and they used those gifts that we gave to them. That was mistakes from us, from our side,” he said.

Dooley was particularly unhappy with his players’ lack of aggression and focus, and hinted at changes in midfield after being disappointed with Sohel Rana’s performance. He also confirmed that Zidane Yousuf, one of the more impressive performers in that match, will move into central defence in place of Shakil Ahad Topu, who was at fault for all three goals against Malaysia.

“We were way too far back. Everybody was putting the pressure on my other teammate or maybe have an excuse, like ‘Do I have to go? You have to go?’ So it's more like we need to play aggressively, much more aggressively against the man, much more aggressively against the ball, want to play forward,” Dooley said.

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The 65-year-old coach, who began his Bangladesh tenure with a 2-1 away victory over San Marino, wants his side to dictate the tempo rather than react to their opponents.

“My planning is I want to focus on us. We need to dictate the game. We need to be focusing on how we want to play, not looking too much on the other team. If we let any team play, if we're not putting pressure on any player, any team can play against us, any team can beat us,” he said.

Bangladesh have faced Singapore four times, with the Southeast Asian side ranked 34 places higher. The two most recent meetings ended in narrow Singapore victories, but Dooley believes those results could easily have gone the other way.

“We wanted to have at least four points out of this tournament. We can't get that anymore, but we can get three points against Singapore,” he said.

“I know that the last two times were very tight. It was 2-1 and 1-0 for Singapore. And when I listen to the players, and to the fans, and to the media, those two games we could have won also. So that means they are even.

“And I said to the players already that we need to play with a different mindset, a different attitude, and I want to win the game. There's no question.”

HIGHLIGHTS

Kickoff: 3:00 pm Bangladesh time at GBK Arena, Jakarta

FIFA Ranking: Bangladesh (182), Singapore (148)

Head-to-head:

Matches: 4, Singapore won: 3, Bangladesh won: 0, draw: 1

Standing in group:

Bangladesh bottom with zero points and -3 goal/difference

Singapore third with 0 points and -2 goal/difference