“I’m not someone who rotates the squad but we have some problems in some players and this is difficult because when you play four games in 11 days and you have 14 matches ahead, so that’s nearly 30 per cent of the matches in those days, which is too much. “I’m not good at mathematics but if we can put all players tomorrow it will be good but there might be two-or-three players who won’t be able to play. We will wait for the medical reports. I’m sorry if I can’t repeat the same even if I like to do so. If I can’t repeat the same team, it will be a chance for other players,” he confessed. “First the players have to refresh their minds because this will be their fourth game in 11 days. Maybe somebody could be psychologically tired. Only if you are fresh, your body can work. I want them to have a strong mentality and good team spirit. If we do so, we are one strong team.” Interestingly, these two sides met in a closed-door friendly game during pre-season and the former FC Tokyo boss had a lot to learn from the experience. “We had played a training game against Chennaiyin [during pre-season]. They are very strong with a very good coach. They have a good bunch of players and also some very physically strong players. We aren’t specifically physically strong but we are mentally strong, I think,” he concluded.
