Ghotbi: The only pressure is from ourselves

AFC – DOHA, Coach Afshin Ghotbi insisted Iran were comfortable with the increased expectation they can end their 35-year wait for AFC Asian Cup glory that their opening two victories in Qatar has brought.

Iran have already secured top spot in AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ Group D ahead of their encounter with UAE at Al Rayyan Stadium on Wednesday after previous wins over Iraq and DPR Korea.

That has lead to Team Melli being installed as many peoples’ favourites to lift their first continental title since 1976 and Ghotbi feels they can handle that pressure.

“The pressure we feel is that which we put on ourselves,” he said.

“From the moment we started putting this team together 20 months ago, we had one target and that’s to win the tournament. These results have only given confirmation to our players that we have a team that is capable of winning the tournament. That gives us confidence and the platform to play better football in the coming days.

“One of the biggest factors is to create an atmosphere of self-belief and there is the quality within the group to do that. Iranians are very intelligent and their minds are very busy so it’s difficult to get them to concentrate on one task at a time.

“We’ve done a lot of work on this and I think it’s one of the reasons why we’ve been able to achieve these results. Everyone understands their role and that if we all do our small part, the team can succeed and individuals can benefit.

“The players are very committed to stay focused to achieve this success.”

With their quarter-final spot already assured, Ghotbi will take the opportunity to have a look at the depth of his squad against the UAE but refuted suggestions that equated to fielding a weakened team.

“We don’t have a first, second or third team, we have one team which is Iran,” he added.

“We will play the players that we feel will reach our goals and that is to win the match.

“We were the first team to qualify and we hope to be the only team with nine points so we want to keep our winning mentality through the tournament.

“Our goal is to try to get all 23 players not only match fit but to make my decision harder (for the quarter-finals) and also to create an atmosphere in the team that everyone shares responsibility and feels part of the team.

“It’s a great opportunity to use some players that haven’t played yet.”