'Some people on social media have no clue about football': Dooley defends players against online criticism

Bangladesh coach Thomas Dooley did not hold back when asked about online criticism of his players on Saturday, dismissing much of the reaction on social media as coming from people with little genuine understanding of the sport.

"When I look at Facebook, some of them have no clue about football," Dooley said, addressing the tone of recent criticism directed at his squad.

Speaking at a press conference before the squad's departure for Indonesia, Dooley requested supporters and pundits to temper their expectations ahead of the ASEAN Cup, insisting the gap between his side and the region's stronger teams cannot close overnight.

His comments came amid growing optimism surrounding the team following the recent arrivals of Hamza Choudhury and Shamit Shome, with Dooley keen to guard against unrealistic hopes ahead of a difficult group stage draw.

He pointed directly to the rankings gap separating Bangladesh from group opponents Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, arguing that meaningful progress would take years rather than a single tournament cycle to achieve.

"Even as new coaches coming in, we cannot give you a drink and suddenly you understand the game, or you get better overnight. Look at the rankings, where they are. To go from 180, where we are right now, to 150, that could take two or three years," Dooley said.

He was blunt about the scale of the challenge facing his squad, contrasting the number of players featuring in top European leagues across the region with Bangladesh's own comparatively limited representation abroad.

"You expect us to go there, in front of 80,000 people, and beat Indonesia, who have six or seven players playing in the Bundesliga, in Holland's first division, in Italy's first division. How many do we have in a first division? None. The only one playing at a higher level is Hamza. He plays in the Championship," he said.

Dooley also addressed how the wider footballing community treats young players following disappointing results, arguing that public criticism risks doing lasting damage to careers rather than encouraging genuine improvement.

"Look what people do to players like Abbas (Adam Abbas). You're killing their future. You need to be supportive of the players," he said, before adding a further warning about the tone of ongoing criticism.

"If you're hammering the players, you're not helping. I'm not talking about you specifically, but you're not helping," he said, addressing journalists directly during the exchange.

Despite the caution, Dooley made clear that competitiveness remained his genuine priority for the tournament, insisting the team's mentality should focus on fighting until the final whistle regardless of the eventual scoreline.

"I expect them to fight until the last minute, even if we lose two nil or three nil, and play some nice football against a very strong opponent. That would make me happy," he said.

He was equally firm about which results genuinely mattered most, distinguishing between matches against stronger regional sides and fixtures against nations Bangladesh should realistically expect to beat.

"We have Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, teams we have to beat. Even the Maldives are ahead of us. I always say, against teams behind us in the rankings, we cannot lose. It's the same for Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. They cannot lose against Bangladesh either, when you look at the rankings," he said.

Among injury concerns within the squad, defender Topu Barman has been ruled out entirely after struggling with a calf issue that never fully allowed him to train alongside the squad during preparations for the tournament.

"Topu is out. He was never really in, if I'm honest. He had this injury from the beginning, a small tear in his calf, so he never really trained with the team," Dooley explained, detailing the timeline of the injury.

He confirmed that scans had ultimately ruled Barman out of contention entirely, with the defender's recovery timeline simply incompatible with the demands of the upcoming tournament schedule.

"As we got closer to the tournament, we kept waiting to see if he'd make it. But the scan showed a dark spot on the muscle, and the doctor said it would take another two weeks before he could train properly. That doesn't make sense. The SAFF Championship is more important than this tournament, so we decided he's not coming with us, because he can't play," he said.

Shekh Morsalin, meanwhile, remains in contention despite carrying his own fitness concerns, with Dooley confirming the midfielder had experienced a minor setback in training just days before the squad's scheduled departure.

"Morsalin has had a few issues too, problems with his neck from sleeping awkwardly, then a small tear in his calf. He was training, but two days ago he felt something in the calf again," Dooley said.

He added that scans had since confirmed the issue was minor, with Morsalin expected to return to full training within days rather than facing any prolonged period on the sidelines ahead of the tournament.

"We did an MRI and it's a tiny thing, maybe three more days before he can join training again. That's why he's still with us," Dooley said.

Jamal Bhuyan targets knockout stage despite tough draw

While Dooley preached caution publicly, captain Jamal Bhuyan struck a noticeably more ambitious tone, insisting that simply participating in the tournament was never part of his own mindset heading into the competition.

Bangladesh's group includes hosts Indonesia and Malaysia, both considerably higher ranked sides, alongside Singapore, leaving Jamal's side as clear outsiders on paper heading into their opening fixtures in Jakarta.

Despite that gap, Jamal made his ambitions clear before departure, framing qualification from the group as a genuine target rather than simply a hopeful outcome for the tournament.

"People have a lot of expectations, that is the truth, because everyone wants to win. I think the coach said that considering the rankings, because we are the lowest ranked team in this group. But as captain, our expectation is that we want to qualify," Jamal said.

He rejected the idea of entering a major tournament without genuine ambition, insisting every player within the squad shared the same underlying goal regardless of the difficult draw facing them in Group A.

"You cannot go to a tournament and say we have only come to participate. Everyone has a goal. Our players' goal is also to play in the next round. Since this is a major FIFA tournament, there are high expectations among everyone," he said.

Jamal drew specific inspiration from Bangladesh's own history in Indonesia, recalling the country's unexpected run to the last 16 of the 2018 Asian Games despite being drawn against similarly daunting opposition at the time.

"We know it will be difficult. Indonesia and Malaysia are very strong teams. But when we were in Indonesia in 2018, our group had Uzbekistan, Thailand and Qatar. Nobody thought we would qualify then, but we made it to the last 16. Something similar could happen this time too," he said.

Asked whether the squad's intensive training schedule had contributed to a recent spike in injuries, Jamal defended the coaching staff's approach, describing the heavy workload as a necessary part of pre-season preparation.

"We are in pre-season now. Pre-season training is a little tougher, and you have to take on a higher load here. That is probably why there have been somewhat more injuries," he said.