VIENTIANE (11 Oct 2014) – Englishman David Booth had just taken over the Laos national side less than a month ago. But since then, he had handled the U23 team for the Asian Games and where he will also be leading the full senior side for the AFF Suzuki Cup qualifying round which will begin in two days.
In spite of the short space of time with which to whip up an incredible squad, Booth remains confident that he can lead the squad to the final round of the championship.
AFF: Thank you Mr Booth for allowing us to interview you before the start of your training session. Can you tell us how you got into this position as the coach of Laos?
BOOTH: Thank you to you too. As you know, I was with Lao Toyota FC for the Laos Premier League and I was actually on holidays with the family when the season ended. But when I got home, I got the call and was presented with this opportunity, so I took it.
AFF: How has it been so far for you in Laos?
BOOTH: With Lao Toyota, it has been incredible. They were somewhere at the bottom when I took over and we finished second at the end of the season. I thought that we did well and where really, we should have won the league outright. But still, second was not at all bad. With the national side, it has been a challenge since I only had days to work with the U23 team for the Asian Games. We did well considering that we lost to the eventual champions (South Korea) by such a small margin. Between the U23, Lao Toyoto FC – we played in the FA Cup final – a few days ago – and the senior side, I was handling three different teams with almost three different players all at once. So it has been interesting, very interesting.
AFF: How about your preparation for the qualifiers?
BOOTH: We had a few days off after coming back from the Asian Games in Incheon and we started work at the start of this month. We played just two friendly matches as part of the run-up for the qualifiers and I thought that the commitment of the players were superb. The score was secondary as compared to how they played.
AFF: Are you happy with the time given to you to prepare a team?
BOOTH: It is certainly not the best of situations but sometimes you just have to go with it. The timing is not perfect, but I can’t complain. The players have been very good and that is very important. Perhaps the fact that I’m also using players from the U23 which had played at the Asia Games meant that familiarity is not a problem. They had several quality games in Incheon under their belt and it was good to have them for this tournament.
AFF: Who will be your main rival for the qualifiers?
BOOTH: Every team here will be tough but I think that Myanmar will be the hardest team to play against here. Cambodia have had a good preparation time while Brunei are playing in the S-League, which gave them all the right exposure. Timor will be using their foreign imports for sure, which means that they can be very competitive.
AFF: What will be your expectations for the qualifiers?
BOOTH: To qualify of course. Laos had qualified for the last two editions and naturally, there are expectations from the people that we should make the cut again.
AFF: What are your main concerns at this point in time?
BOOTH: The players’ mental awareness of what’s needed to qualify will be an important factor. The players also need to realise the mental toughness needed to compete. I am worried about that aspect.
AFF: What about your opening match against Cambodia?
BOOTH: Performance and attitude will count where winning the first game will be very important to put us on the right track.