Dhaka: Bangladesh national team head coach Jamie Day has acknowledged that he receives full support from the Bangladesh Football Federation and that he enjoys full freedom in taking decisions and calling shot for the betterment of the team.
The British coach came up with the statement while talking to sports journalists on Sunday afternoon ahead of Bangladesh’s visit to Cambodia for an international friendly.
The friendly match against Cambodia will be played on March 9.
Asked about the team’s plans following the match, Jamie said, “We come back from Cambodia on the 10th to meet the U23 team. Then we leave on the 11th to go to Qatar for a camp till the 20th. Then from there, we go to Bahrain for the AFC U23 Championship 2020 qualifiers. We’ll be there from the 20th to the 28th.”
Squads for both the international friendly and the AFC qualifiers have already been declared.
Talking about the selection process, Jamie Day said, “The selection process was based on the players’ previous performances for the national team. And then their performance in the league since I’ve been here watching. I’ve also gone for players, I think the majority of them, who have played regularly. I think that’s important. Yes, there is a couple of players who couldn’t play regularly as they were injured but I felt that they had played well before the got injured.”
“It’s a young squad with some experience which is needed. And I hope that it’s a squad that can take the Cambodia game into the U23 tournament as well,” he added.
Speaking about former captain Mamunul’s inclusion in the team, Jamie said, “The way he looks after the younger players is, I think, really beneficial for the rest of the squad. Also, Mamunul offers a lot more to the squad than just a player.”
“Besides, at his age, I feel that he still has a lot to offer for the national team,” Jamie added.
Acknowledging a free working environment at the BFF, Jamie said, “Since I’ve been here, I’ve never faced any pressure from anybody as far as team selection is concerned. The President also has full faith in me picking the squad. He backs me one hundred percent. All the players we ever picked since I’ve been here has solely been me and Stuart’s decision.”
Shedding some light on the upcoming clash with Cambodia, Jamie said, “We all know that Cambodia will be a tough game. But we are going to try to win the game… that’s what we’ll set out to do. You know, you can still get ranking points from that game and that’s something that we need to try and get in order to get up the ranking before June. So, we are going to go there with the intent of winning.”
Reflecting on the lack of recent interaction with the players, Jamie said, “I did not have too much interaction with the payers recently. Yes, it’s going to be a bit of a challenge. But we’ve met before and they know our work ethic. We need to make sure the shape is good and we’re going do a couple of days of good training to get their shape as before. But they’ve done exceptionally well for me before and we also have some new players. So, they’ll have to adjust to our system. But I’m looking forward to it.”
Underlining that the players are never out of contact, the head coach said, “I have constant contact with majority of the players throughout the season. Me and Stuart talk to 90% of the players every week. We haven’t got a regular training camp which we’ve discussed and would’ve loved to have. But They know us, they know our work. They know what’s expected when they come to the national team. And if that ever changes, they know that they won’t be picked.”
