‘Don’t dwell’ on past glory: coach Butler’s mantra for title defence

Bangladesh head coach Peter Butler said he is unwilling to dwell on the past achievements of his charges, as his focus is on defending the title of the SAFF Women's Championship, scheduled for October 17 to 30 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Holders Bangladesh -- set to leave for Nepal on October 15 -- will start their campaign by taking on Pakistan in a Group A fixture on October 20, before facing five-time champions India in their final group match on October 23.

The women in red and green have been in training since last December, under the guidance of Saiful Bari Titu, in a period which they played two friendly matches against Singapore.

Afterwards, the then BFF Elite Academy coach Butler was at the helm of the women's team, guiding them in two friendly matches against Bhutan in July.

"I don't look up on it as the defending champions because that's history. Anybody who dwells on the past, on past achievements, can end up getting a little bit short, and unfortunately, you end up lying on your backside in the dirt. I'm one of those, I look at the present, I love going forward," Butler told reporters after yesterday's training session at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka.

The English coach added, "What's gone is gone. It's a different group, a different mindset, but the focus is the same: we want to win the SAFF [Championship], and the most importantly, we keep ourselves in the present, and don't look back and dwell. I'm really pleased with this group."

Defender Masura Parvin said that Butler has been training them to play attacking football instead of their usual defensive approach.

"We don't have two players -- [defender Akhi Khatun and forward Sirat Jahan Swapna] -- who played in the last SAFF Women's Championship, but the replacements for those two have been improving in the camp. We've been training well under the new coach," said Masura after training.

Winger Sanjida Khatun noted the absence of warm-up matches before the regional championship campaign.

"We could have identified our mistakes if we had had the opportunity to play preparation matches. However, we've been preparing ourselves and playing practice matches amongst ourselves. We will try to give our best in the championship," said Sanjida, adding that some of their players have experience playing in foreign leagues, which they hope to utilise in the SAFF Women's Championship.