Chennaiyin FC coach John Gregory stated that his team trained hard ahead of their third game in the AFC Cup Group E against Abahani Dhaka despite the immense heat in the last week.
The former Indian Super League (ISL) champions are currently at the top of the group with a draw and a win in their first two matches. The Marina Machans will hope to their end their final group fixture at home with a win on Tuesday.
Ahead of the match, Gregory said, “We are looking forward to this game. We enjoy playing on this surface and the stadium is fantastic. We are in good shape."
“The heat is unusual for me, not so much for Mohammed Rafi I think. This is really hot and in the last week, we’ve had to get used to unbelievable temperatures. In training, we do it as late as we can in the day.
“The players are working really hard and focusing on making sure they are in good condition for the match. One of the great things about this group is that they always want to train more, even after the training session. It is really impressive. Hopefully, they can get a good result for us.”
Next Match
The British coach particularly praised the backline of his team and also gave an update on Raphael Augusto’s fitness. He said, “The defence has been very good."
"I want it to continue, obviously. It has been down to the players who have been very focused. Mailson and Eli Sabia have struck up a partnership after the troublesome ISL season. Jerry has come back in and looks more like his old self.
“Raphael Augusto is having some clean-up in the knee. He has been suffering for a while now. He’s got little bits of floating bone in there he should be back with us pretty soon. It’s a chance for somebody else and performs. You always miss someone like Raphael but we need to get on with it.”
Chennaiyin opted to play their home games at the TransStadia Arena in Ahmedabad and Gregory has given the stadium his stamp off approval. He also mentioned that the team would aim to collect full points from their final home game.
“The surface here is very good. So we can play a certain type of game. In Colombo, the surface was a different test for us. It wasn’t conducive to playing out from the back. We were direct. We will face that in Nepal and Dhaka. Again, it becomes a different match and level out the teams. So, it is imperative that we get three points tomorrow night,” said the Chennaiyin boss.
Gregory further mentioned that he is not bothered about the injury concerns of the opposition and is just focusing on his own team. He said, “I just focus on our team and what we’ve got to do. If they have players missing, it is unlucky for them. But I will worry about our team and make sure ours is the strongest team we can play. We lost Dhanpal Ganesh for a whole season which was big for us. But those are not excuses.”