Butler gets his players ‘moving’ in Vientiane

Bangladesh coach Peter Butler got his 'players moving' through the first practice session in Vientiane on Sunday morning, a day after reaching the Laos capital for the upcoming AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers.

Bangladesh, pitted in Group H, will take on hosts Laos on Wednesday before playing against Timor Leste on Friday and wrapping up the campaign against favourites South Korea two days later.

After journeying on the previous day, Butler took his charges to training early in the morning – his usual modus operandi – in an effort to get them 'out of their comfort zone'.

"I always think it's important to get your first session under your belt, get the players moving. Get them out of bed and shake them out of the comfort zone and most importantly, get into work mindset and work ethic," the Englishman said in a video message shared by the Bangladesh Football Federation.

With two days left for the opening match, Butler will have another session with the ball on Monday before focusing on Laos the day before the match. Having just guided the team to SAFF U-20 Women's Championship title two weeks ago, Butler sounded quite positive about his team's mental and physical shape for this crucial campaign. He, however, said that there are a couple of fitness issues within the team.

"There are one or two little injuries, one with fever. Other than that they trained well this morning. The girls know how I work. They always respond extremely well," Butler added.

The top teams from the eight groups along with three second-best finishers will join hosts Thailand in the final round, which will be held in April next year.