How Manolo Marquez is trying to take Indian football team forward, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu reveals

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu mentioned his relationship with Manolo Marquez.

Indian football had embarked on a new chapter with the appointment of Manolo Marquez as the head coach of the national team. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was all praise for his new manager. Manolo who has been successful in the Indian Super League(ISL) with Hyderabad FC, is expected to bring a fresh perspective and innovative approach to the national team but so far the results haven’t been fruitful.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu earlier spoke to the media and expressed his admiration for the impact of new coach Manolo Marquez on the national team and also expressed his belief in the coach.

On Manolo Marquez

“I would say coach Manolo Marquez, has been working in India for a few seasons now. He knows how to work with Indian players and applies what he has observed from his experience as well. His coaching levels are very high. It’s been very good so far.

“What I have admired the most is, the simplicity and the organization level that we’ve been having in terms of how we want to play, how we prepare for games, in terms of analyzing the opponents and how they are going to play, creating scenarios in training, all these things are very important,” Gurpreet Singh Sandhu cited.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu further added, “So far, it has been good. And it’s all done in a matter of four, five days, whatever we’ve been getting so far. Using a small period is commendable for any coach.

“Thus with time, having a better understanding of how we want to be as a team and also then realizing and planning how we want to hurt other teams using our system is something which will come with time. And I have no doubts about where we are going to be.”

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On transition of the ideas of the coaches

The transition from Igor Stimac’s era to Manolo Marquez’s has not been easy, Even though the Indian national football team is adapting well to the change in coaching philosophy.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu expressed that the transition period may be difficult but they are confident about their upcoming matches.

“I always think a transition like this is a difficult thing. I mean, everything will be all good and fine if we start winning games. We are getting close to what he wants us to be as a team.

“Although I think with training, time and the level of coaching and experience that he has, I do not doubt that we’ll be a strong team in the qualifiers and our aim to qualify for the Asian Cup should be something that we should be achieving. I think it’s a minimum for us as a team that we should strive to do because we’ve done it already in the last two editions,” Gurpreet Singh Sandhu exclaimed.

“This should be a no-brainer for us as a team now. This is something we should be aiming for every single time to be in the Asian Cup consecutively because if you’re not, then it’s very difficult to move on further as a team. So, it’s very positive, very good right now.

“But let’s not expect too much. Let’s just stay humble and keep working because I don’t think we’ve worked more than 30 days together in the past 3-4 months since coach Manolo Marquez has come. So, with time, with games, we’ll get better for sure,” Gurpreet Singh Sandhu concluded.

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