{"id":1146,"date":"2020-01-23T13:58:02","date_gmt":"2020-01-23T03:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/?p=1146"},"modified":"2026-09-23T14:33:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T05:03:20","slug":"polking-knows-its-now-or-never-for-bangkok-united","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/polking-knows-its-now-or-never-for-bangkok-united\/","title":{"rendered":"P\u00f6lking knows it’s now or never for Bangkok United"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bangkok United head coach Mano P\u00f6lking believes harsh lessons learned from a disappointing 2019 can inspire his side to the 2020 Thai League title.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since joining the club in 2014, the\nBrazilian has overseen the Bangkok Angels\u2019 rise from relegation strugglers to\nfive consecutive Top Five finishes. But an inability to take the final step and\nbecome champions has caused frustration, particularly last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With great investment came great\nexpectations, but, despite the faltering form of their main rivals, Bangkok\nUnited ended the season in fourth spot \u2013 their worst finish since 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLast year much of the pressure came from the investments we made at the beginning of the season,\u201d said P\u00f6lking. \u201cAfter finishing in the Top Three three times, it was clear we were missing something and I told the boss that one day we would have to loosen the purse strings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was supposed to be the final step and\nwhat happened? We spent almost 100 million Baht and ended up with the worst\nseason compared to the ones in which we had already established ourselves as a\nbig club.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The signings of El Salvador striker Nelson Bonilla, Thailand international wing-backs Tristan Do and Peerapat Notchaiya and rising star Anon Amornlerdsak had generated significant optimism at the beginning of 2019. The club adopted the slogan \u2018The Time Is Now\u2019 to hammer home the message that it seemed to be now or never, with Buriram United weakened by the loss of striker Diogo Luis Santo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, three of the four new boys\nspent a significant part of the season injured, while playmaker Vander Luiz and\ndefender Mika Chunuonsee also suffered serious injury problems. Add to that an\neight-match suspension for midfielder Sanrawat Dechmitr and Bangkok United were\nrarely, if ever, at full strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe pressure was there from the beginning as if we had to win the title last year,\u201d P\u00f6lking added. \u201cIt was a very unlucky year and this is not meant as an excuse. We have a good squad. A big club cannot say we lost because our players were injured. But at the same time, in crucial games at crucial moments, we were often short of key players, especially the players that we bought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Bangkok United captain Anthony Ampaipitakwong (L) and Mika Chunuonsee (R) at the 2020 Bangkok United season launch<\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNelson Bonilla, Tristan Do and Peerapat\nNotchaiya represented 70 per cent of the investment needed to make the final\nstep. I didn\u2019t have them for almost half of the season. But we should still be\ndoing better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, P\u00f6lking returns for the 2020 campaign with the belief that his side can still become champions, though the club have exercised more caution with this year\u2019s slogan. \u2018Let\u2019s Make It True\u2019 is a nod to the True Corporation \u2013 the media giant that sponsors the club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a big club, we always have to have this target (to be champions),\u201d said P\u00f6lking. \u201cWe are now one of the big clubs, one of the clubs with the best conditions and good payment. We started growing very fast together and reached a level when we finished second, we finished third, and then we finished second again. Then the pressure comes to improve on that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to take the pressure off the\nplayers and get to work as a team and forget about the other teams. I really\nbelieve we can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P\u00f6lking recognises that he could well have been dismissed for failing to win silverware in 2019, but he is grateful to have another chance to lift an elusive trophy. With just one player brought in, he believes the greatest asset may be continuity, and he is confident that the one big signing \u2013 Japanese midfielder Hajime Hosogai – can have a very positive influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cIn a normal situation, I should be gone,\u201d P\u00f6lking admitted.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe club decided to give me one more chance and I was very pleased to hear that. But I know that I have to change something and that we as a team have to change something \u2013 maybe the attitude, maybe the aggressiveness at training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis season, what is important is that we\nkept all of our players. We are giving them a second year. We have continuity,\nwhich is always important. And we have to work better, prepare better and be in\nbetter condition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have already changed a lot in one\nmonth. We have made some changes in the staffing and we have made one big\nchange in the squad, with Hajime Hosogai showing in just this month that he is\nan unbelievable player.  He has very\nclear leadership qualities on the pitch and a very clear work ethic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis will help me to make the changes I need. That\u2019s why I\u2019m very confident that we will do better. I like the team I have, I enjoy working with them every day and they are pushing hard. They also understand what happened (last year) and why it happened and they all really want to prove that with the same team, we can do things differently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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