Thaindian News

New Delhi, Dec 7 (IANS) India coach Savio Medeira admitted Wednesday that cramped schedule of the SAFF Cup football tournament is not giving his boys enough time to learn from their mistakes.

India cruised into the semi-final with a 3-0 win over Sri Lanka but missed several chances and could have won by a bigger margin. The defending champions, however, cannot afford similar mistakes against the Maldives, who beat the five-time champions in 2008 final.

“We had our chances and missed them. In every match, we had chances and it is up to the boys to accept it and how they improve. But obviously, we can’t improve in one day. The cramped schedule is not giving enough rest to the players. Three matches in five days is tough on the players,” said Medeira.

Asked about the inconsistent performance of Syed Rahim Nabi and Clifford Miranda, Medeira said: “Every player cannot play consistently. Today they were not up to the mark, but hopefully they will give their best in the next match.”

Medeira said he was not looking at the prospect of defending the title and wants to take one match at a time.

“We have to take one match at a time. My boys are only thinking about the semi-final and not beyond that,” he said.

Mederia also said that the team would take the ground Thursday after a thorough homework on the Maldives, including their star player Ali Ashfaq.

“We will see how they operate and do our homework. We will discuss 2-3 points which are missing. I hope the boys continue the good work,” he said.