POULSEN NOT COWED BY ARMENIAN CHALLENGE
Khachik Chakhoyan from Yerevan
UEFA.com
Jan 3 2009
Switzerland
Armenia coach Jan B. Poulsen admits his side have "nothing to lose"
after opening their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with four
defeats as hopes of a place in South Africa vanished.
Big ask Appointed a year ago with the goal of leading Armenia to the
World Cup finals in South Africa, Poulsen received few favours from the
draw which pitched his side into a fiercely competitive Group 5. "We
started the campaign against Turkey and reigning European champions
Spain," he said. "We did our best. We showed total commitment and
a will to fight, but unfortunately the guys who are playing abroad
lacked match fitness and were far from their best condition.
Limited opportunities "As with every national-team coach I don’t have
much time with my squad," added the 62-year-old, who spent much of
his career with BK Frem but also coached the Denmark Under-21 team,
Singapore and Jordan’s U20 side. "I last saw the team in November
before the Bosnia-Herzegovina match [a 4-1 away defeat]. It’s hard
to produce anything impressive in such conditions. Everybody is doing
their best, but we still suffer from lack of coordination in our play."
Next generation Armenia take on Latvia in a friendly on 11 February
as they look to build up confidence ahead of the resumption of their
Group 5 campaign in March. "The main thing for us is to get together
once again," said Poulsen. "Three months have passed since our last
training camp. Despite being without some key players, the Latvia
game is very important. It will give me a chance to test several young
prospects. We have to see who can strengthen the team in the future."
‘Nothing to lose’ Conceding that his side "definitely have problems
up front" and a "shortage of tall players with good aerial ability",
Poulsen accepts that the World Cup is now beyond Armenia, but is
happy to battle on. "We’ve got nothing to lose now," he said. "I
believe that Armenia’s results will. Last year we were successful
against Kazakhstan, Belarus and Malta, but I hope we’ll achieve more
in clashes with top teams. At least, we promise to put all our efforts
into doing so."