Muangthong United coach Totchtawan Sripan has no concern about the fitness level of his team as they face Australia’s Brisbane Roar in a Group E match of the AFC Champions League today.
The Thai League champions could take a big step towards qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition for the first time if they beat Brisbane tonight at the SCG Stadium to complete a hat-trick of victories on home soil.
Brisbane should not be a problem for group leader Muangthong, as the Australian outfit have not scored on the road and suffered heavy defeats in previous away fixtures against Ulsan Hyundai (6-0) and Kashima Antlers (3-0).
There have been some concerns about the physical conditions of Muangthong players as they battled to a 1-1 away draw against Ratchaburi Mitr Phol in the league at the weekend.
However, Totchtawan, during the pre-match conference, believed fatigues should not be an issue.
“Maybe the players feel a bit jaded because we’ve played a lot of games recently. But, I don’t have any concern. Wherever there is a problem we would simply use the players that we have,” he said.
“We may make some adjustments to try to find a right balance to ensure we have the best possible line-up.”
Totchtawan also ruled out the possibility of complacency among his players.
“We’ll play in the same way we did before. We don’t have any advantage over them. It would be unwise for us if we go for broke. We need to put emphasis on discipline and simply take chances as it comes.”
“We have to keep it tight at the back. We must not give away a goal and then try to poach a win in the closing stages,” Totchtawan said.
Muangthong are currently top of the table in Group E with 8 points, two more than second-place Kashima Antlers. Brisbane tie with Ulsan Hyundai with 4 points apiece.