Sri Lanka boss Amir Alagic feels India will be under pressure against his team

Both sides are yet to clinch their first win at the ongoing SAFF Championship 2021.

India is set to lock horns with Sri Lanka at the Maldives National Football Stadium on October 7 at the SAFF Championship 2021. The Blue Tigers began their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh on Monday, while Sri Lanka has already played two games - losing both. Both teams will now be looking to put those games behind them and regroup for the remainder of the tournament. Ahead of Thursday's clash, Sri Lanka head coach Amir Alagic addressed the pre-match press conference, speaking on the match and more.

Thoughts on India

The 61-year-old began with an overview of the nations participating at the SAFF Championship. The Bosnian-Australian tactician also felt that the upcoming game will be tough for his side.

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"We cannot judge (them) based on one or two games. They (India) have the best infrastructure and league. So it will be really tough and a huge test for us," he started.

"For Sri Lanka, it's a learning process but learning processes should stop somewhere. So we are expecting a really good game tomorrow - a test, not just result wise but to test how we are growing," he added.

Campaign so far

Sri Lanka have already played two matches at the SAFF Championship 2021, both of which tuned into defeats for the Golden Army. Speaking about the experience so far, Amir Alagic opined that his side were unfortunate to lose both games and he expects more against India.

"In the last two games, we were very unfortunate with the result but we are not beaten (mentally). We are really competitive and coming close to these nations who are ahead of us in FIFA rankings. I expect more tomorrow; a more intelligent game from my team than what we achieved in the previous games," he quipped.

"We are missing some couple of positions (players). Some of our key players are still in Sri Lanka. So it would be much, much easier if we play with a structure. For tomorrow (against India) particularly, we need intelligence, team unity and also have to be compact to sustain the pressure. We don't have anything to lose and we are trying to be competitive. We showed that even with one player down (against Bangladesh) and I expect my team to mature tomorrow and present the best performance in this tournament," Amir Alagic stated.

On playing an extra game

As mentioned before, Sri Lanka have already played two games at the tournament - compared to India's only one. Amir Alagic was quizzed whether he feels playing an extra game could be vital for his team's performance against India or not.

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"As a coach, I have to see that from both sides. One side is fitness; we played two and India one. This means that they are more fresh while we covered more and more space in these two games. Also, it's not just that you run, you need to play a more intelligent game. India, obviously, has more exposure and matches in their leagues. However, I cannot comment on what's going on in India. That's not fair. They have some problems which we'll try to utilize. Tomorrow, they have no choice, They have to win and there's pressure on their side," he answered.

The tactician also stated that his side is here to learn and insisted that the Indian side will be under pressure ahead of Thursday's game as well.

"We didn't come here as favourites. We've come here to learn and be more competitive. Now, it's another phase for our game. It's time we started providing good results by playing an intelligent game. This will give us confidence and this is how the other nations did too. I'm sure there'll be a lot of pressure on the Indian side. That way, you always have a problem.

"As long as you're attacking, you're always exposed at the back to counter-attacks. But we have some of the best players in South Asia, in those positions. So we're analyzing our previous games and we'll do our best. Results can go either way and fitness also matters, of course. But definitely, the pressure is on the Indian side."

Progress of the Sri Lanka squad

Since Alagic's appointment on February 2020, Sri Lanka have played only four matches; two World Cup Qualifiers and two SAFF Championship games (ongoing). Pertinent to the same, he was asked about his progress and whether he was happy with it so far.

"I should be happy, honestly. Especially when you see the whole situation that we're going through since I've come; the curfew, the health situation and not having matches. Training for the youngsters is okay but for the senior team, without matches, it doesn't prove anything," he responded.

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Basically, we didn't have any friendlies but when you see other countries they had a lot of matches. But I'm really happy because from when I came, we started organizing the national team from scratch. We emerged (created) and added some youngsters as well as some overseas players like Ahmed Waseem Razeek against Lebanon and Marvin Hamilton against Nepal. So, since I'm here this process has started to become positive."

On Football Sri Lanka's support

The 61-year-old was asked about Football Sri Lanka and the role of president Jaswar Umaru, who was elected in June 2021.

"I share this with our captain (Sujan Perera) as well. He's (the president) visited Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar on his own. He visits to support the national team and has now given us another camp after this SAFF tournament. We're creating space (opportunities). But our problem is time. We really need it now and it's our biggest enemy," he expressed.

Comparison with ISL

Amir Alagic felt that it is the perfect time to work on developing the Sri Lankan football league (S1). He explained his logic by comparing it with the Indian Super League and the necessity to model the Sri Lankan league like that of the ISL.

"Our league must be at level with the requirements of the national team. This is another edge. If you see the super league (ISL), it is more advanced than the Indian national team," he opined.

"In our case though, nothing is wrong as we have suffered several setbacks in the last couple of years. But we have to bring this (league like the ISL), build grassroots and overseas players. Right now we have five overseas players who can play in our first XI. That will be our focus in the next year," the head coach continued.

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On the midfield and defence

Amir Alagic was asked about his side's midfield and defense, which faced with criticisms after their loss against Nepal. "Of our 11 players, four players aren't playing in positions that they usually play. It is a lot of trouble for these players to adapt. But we the coaching staff don't have a choice because our league, the domestic tournament is not played as per the requirements of the national team," he pointed out.

"We have a kind of old-fashioned games. Until now clubs played according to their needs. But now we have to convert that culture into one that suits the national team's needs like everywhere else in the world.

"That will expose our players, bring more overseas coaches and players and thus create role models for them in football. When they see how Sujan and Waseem play, it is much better than a coach's explanation. Basically, our league must raise up and that's number one. Without our league, we will not advance. We will prove that with President Jaswar and our number one priority for next year is a super league," he concluded.

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