How Manolo Marquez can get best out of Manvir Singh in India set-up?

Manvir Singh scored five goals and provided four assists in the 2024-25 season.

Manvir Singh is coming off a pretty impressive 2024-25 campaign with Mohun Bagan, playing a key role in their dominance in the Indian Super League (ISL). The 29-year-old was a key asset for Jose Molina and helped the Mariners push forward to not only retain the ISL league shield but also win the ISL trophy.

Manvir Singh scored five goals and provided four assists across all competitions for the Mariners in the ISL, managing nine goal contributions in the campaign. Now it’s time for the 29-year-old to replicate that kind of form for the India national team. He is expected to feature heavily in India’s next two games against Thailand and Hong Kong and needs to bring his very best to the plate for the Blue Tigers.

It’s also on Manolo Marquez to use Manvir Singh’s qualities and skills properly to help the 29-year-old play to his best potential for India. Here we look at the ways in which the gaffer can get the best out of Manvir in his set-up for India.

Lower defensive responsibilities

The reason why Manvir Singh was really able to shine through under Molina at Mohun Bagan last season is because he wasn’t overburdened with defensive work. The 29-year-old had, of course, tracked back to help out defensively, but he was allowed to play in a more advanced position and push higher forward on the pitch.

Molina opted to have his right-back (mostly Asish Rai) to stay further behind with his defenders and rarely make overlapping runs through the wide areas. That allowed Singh the confidence of being able to push higher up the pitch without having to worry about the opposition players counter-attacking through his side.

Marquez also needs to tweak his system in a way that Manvir doesn’t have to spend the majority of the game with defensive work. He needs the confidence and space to play higher up the pitch and cause damage to opponents.

Urge teammates to play him through into the final third

Manvir Singh proved in the last ISL campaign that he can be really smart when it comes to outwitting defenders with his speedy runs through the wide areas. He constantly threatened players on the wide areas by bursting through into the final third with his powerful runs and causing chaos in or outside the penalty area. For the same to happen to India’s opponents, however, Manvir has to get enough quality service inside the opposition half.

That means the Blue Tigers’ midfielders or defenders need to be sharp in playing him in behind the defenders into the empty areas in the final third. If Manvir is consistently played into the empty areas, he can drive India forward into the opposition box and also create chances with his clever delivery.

Play him as a wide forward

Manolo Marquez needs to be braver in pushing his attacking players into more advanced roles in order for India to really take the fight to their opponents in the upcoming matches. To do so, however, he will need to slightly tweak the positions of his forward players. For Manvir, the best way to unleash his attacking threat would be to position the 29-year-old as a wide forward.

Manvir Singh should be allowed to be as advanced as someone like Sunil Chhetri, but play the majority of the game sticking to the right wing. This can help push back the opposition defenders and allow India to take control of matches in a better way.

Manvir Singh thrives in playing in more advanced roles, as it allows him to get closer to the penalty area and be able to swing in inviting crosses into the middle. Moreover, he can also get into the penalty area more often as a wide forward and try his efficient shooting ability to score goals.

Pushing the 29-year-old to higher up the opposition half can give him utmost confidence to drive forward with the ball, get it to key areas and either try to create chances or test goalkeepers with a powerful shot to raise India’s goal-scoring threat.

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