‘Humble’ Butler delighted with performance

Peter Butler, Bangladesh women's football team's head coach, emerged a different man from what he was three days earlier following a frustrating 1-1 draw in the first match of SAFF Women's Championship against Pakistan in Kathmandu.

The former West Ham midfielder was firing on all cylinders after that Pakistan result, taking a swipe at whoever questioned his team selection or pointed to the listless performance of the players.

Following criticism from his own players, the 58-year-old coach had dared his team to show their worth, and disclosed to media that he might play more senior players to fulfil the team's wish.

He did just that, replacing young Kohati Kisku and Sapna Rani with experienced Masura Parvin and Maria Manda. And that seemed to have made a massive difference as Bangladesh roared to a 3-1 win against five-time champions India last night.

Butler praised his players including those he had not regarded in the starting eleven for the first match. He admitted that those decisions paid off as both Masura and Maria played important roles in their specific positions.

"I'm delighted, really really delighted. I thought we played against a strong, direct team. I thought we outplayed them for long long periods," Butler said at the post-match press conference.

"I'm really proud of the players who came in, such as Masura (Parvin), Maria (Manda) and Sabina (Khatun). I thought they did extremely well," Butler said, adding that players like Masura and Maria, when at top of their game, help the team perform to their full potential.

Contrary to his first-day countenance, the Englishman was much calmer and more self-reflective during yesterday's press conference. However, he didn't let the opportunity pass without having a sly dig at, perhaps Monika Chakma, who had accused the coach of driving a wedge between senior and junior players.

"Sometimes less said, less mended. Best (is) sometimes keeping your mouth shut, saying nothing and things will calm down," Butler said, before going on to add: "All credit to the girls tonight. I'm just a coach, I'm just a humble coach who picks the team and puts on the training session and picks the theme of training."

The Bangladesh coach hinted that he tried to instill unity in the team following the criticism and the fallout from what Monika had said.

"The message to the players tonight was to go out express yourselves. Let's play attacking football, play for your family, play for your shirt, but most important thing is, stick together as a unit. I think they did just that."