De Kruif's emphasis on set-pieces

Lodewijk de Kruif emphasised a lot on the defensive organisation, especially in the last phase of matches, during his initial two-year stint with the Bangladesh national team.

The 46-year-old coach is again giving emphasis on the same area ahead of Bangladesh's Asian Cup qualifying play-offs against Tajikistan next month.

“You know in the past, I was not very happy with the attitude in set-pieces. We conceded a lot of goals, especially in the last 10 or 15 minutes. It was a lack of concentration and it was a lack of quality,” de Kruif told reporters before the start of a training session at the Birshrestha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium yesterday.

“What we are trying to do now is to show those things on the pitch; show the players the videos in classes to close that gap. The players have to keep their concentration for 90-plus minutes. Things are getting better day by day,” added de Kruif.

The Dutch coach has also been working on how to thwart opponents' set-pieces as well as how to score from set-pieces.

“We have been paying attention to corner kicks and free-kicks, when we concede them and when we earn them,” de Kruif said, adding that he would pick his final 23-member squad the day before the team's departure.

Bangladesh team will leave for Dushanbe on May 29 to take on Tajikistan on June 2. The second-leg of the qualifier will be held in Dhaka on June 7.