Hamza doesn't need an armband to be a leader, says Dooley

Bangladesh coach Thomas Dooley has addressed the captaincy debate surrounding Hamza Choudhury, insisting leadership does not depend on wearing the armband, with regular skipper Jamal Bhuyan having been missing from recent starting lineups.

"Hamza doesn't need the captain's armband to be a leader of the team. He is a leader everywhere, in the dressing room, in the stands, in the hotel," Dooley said on Sunday, adding that supporters keen on a change should put the question to Hamza himself.

On how Sohel Rana ended up with the armband, Dooley said:

"Nobody wanted to be captain. Even Sohel didn't want to be captain. Then he came to me and said, if nobody wants to do it, I want to take this responsibility."

Dooley admitted the added responsibility may have weighed on Sohel during the Malaysia defeat.

"Maybe there was a little bit more pressure on him. I have never seen him play like that before, in training or in a match. I was surprised by his performance," he said.

Zidane Yousuf, meanwhile, has been confirmed to start against Singapore after impressing as a substitute against Malaysia.

"Initially I also had doubts about whether he should start. But when he came on, I had to sub him in, and he did an excellent job. So he will start," Dooley said.

He was more critical of Shakil Ahad Topu.

"If you make very easy mistakes playing the ball from the back in training, like Topu did, you have to think twice before putting a young player into an important match," he said.

Bangladesh face Singapore, ranked 148th in the world, at Jakarta Stadium at 3pm Bangladesh time on Monday, needing victory to stay alive in the ASEAN Cup.

The two sides have met twice before in Asian Cup qualifying, both won by Singapore, though Dooley believes those matches were closer than the scorelines suggested.

"When I listen to the players, the supporters and the media, I feel we could have won those two matches as well," he said.

On the mentality he wants from his squad, Dooley said: "If you don't know what attitude or mindset means, look at Hamza in a one on one battle, how he defends. Look at Rakib going for the ball, how much effort he puts in, it is incredible."

He was far less forgiving of unforced errors.

"If I see someone just walking on the field, making mistakes without any pressure, that is difficult to accept. We haven't seen enough scanning of the field, just long balls being played," he said.

On the squad's injury problems, Dooley linked several cases to poor preparation.

"Some players didn't train for two months, maybe longer. If you don't train, you are fatigued and can't go the distance. The ones heavily injured are the ones who didn't do anything," he said.

He also played down expectations of silverware. "This isn't a tournament where we go and beat everybody and come home with a trophy. It's tough preparation, playing against strong teams like Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia," he said.

After the Singapore clash, Bangladesh will face Indonesia at the same stadium on October 1, with kick-off set for 6:30pm Bangladesh time.