Muangthong coach says team can go up a gear for Japan match
Undeterred by his side’s four-game losing streak, Muangthong United coach Totchtawan Sripan is confident his charges will be up to the challenge when they host J-League outfit Kawasaki Frontale in the first leg of their last-16 AFC Champions League tie on Tuesday.
In their second appearance in the tournament, the Thai League champions managed to reach the knockout stages of the continent’s elite club competition for the first time by finishing second in Group E behind another J-League side, Kashima Antlers.
Totchtawan’s team occupied top spot for most of their campaign in the group stage, going five games unbeaten, before slumping to a 2-1 loss away to the Antlers in their final group game a fortnight ago that enabled the Japanese to overtake them for top spot.
Muangthong’s loss in Ibaraki, Japan seemed to have a knock-on effect as the Twin Kirins went on to suffer three successive defeats in the domestic league including a shock 3-2 home loss to promoted side Ubon UMT United last weekend.
Former national midfielder Totchtawan, whose team still lead the way in the Thai top-flight despite their worrying slump in form, insists his men can now regroup against a Frontale side who are on a four-game winning streak in all competitions.
“It’s the first time we've made the last-16 round of the competition so it’s an important game and is very significant for us. We really want a positive result before the away leg. I think it will be a close battle," Totchtawan told the press conference on the eve of the fixture at the SCG Stadium.
“We’ve had a gruelling run of fixtures but it’s something unavoidable. We focus on our performance game by game with all the players available at that moment. We hope to deliver the best possible.
“I have no worries about our run of four consecutive losses. We seem to perform differently on the continental stage than we do in the league. Japanese clubs boast probably the highest standard in Asia.
“Nevertheless, we want to perform as best as we can by trying to claim a win tomorrow."
