Chattogram Abahani coach Maruful Haque said that he tried to instil a winning mentality into the team, which he took charge of only a while ago, ahead of tomorrow’s final of the Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup.

The port city outfit beat Gokulam Kerala 3-2 in Monday’s first semifinal and will face Terengganu FC in the final.

The coach only got his whole squad at his disposal just two days ahead of the tournament as a number of the national team players were busy with international assignments. It was difficult to turn the team into a cohesive unit.

“When I started working, I knew almost half of the players in training will not even be in the starting eleven. We recruited a few foreigners and then the national team players joined at the last moment,” the veteran coach told reporters at the team hotel in Chattogram yesterday.

“I have always believed that if a team has to become champions, it needs to have a champion’s mentality. If you do not believe you can be a champion, then you will not be champions,” the coach added.

The host team fought back from 2-1 down to beat Young Elephants 4-2 in group stages. They were twice one goal down in the semifinal match, but found a way to fight back.

“We analysed that [Nathaniel] Garcia and [Henry] Kisekka operate in tandem. We tried to block their passing channels. We also tried to use the gaps in the flanks left by their overlapping wing-backs. And when we were 3-2 up, we put six players in defence to defend our lead,” analysed the 50-year-old coach.

The coach has seen ups and downs in his career. He led Sheikh Russel KC to an unprecedented treble in the 2013 season, the highlight of his domestic success, while he also led Sheikh Jamal to the title of King’s Cup in Bhutan in 2014. He has also found domestic success with a young and unfancied Arambagh, where he spent the last two years.

Now one match away from his second international success, the UEFA A licensed coach believes he does not have anything to prove.

“I don’t wish to coach foreign teams anymore like before. I know the reality, and I can proudly say I am better than many coaches who are working in South Asian football,” Maruful said. “For the moment, our target is to regain the title for Chattogram Abahani. And we are confident of doing it no matter who the opposition is.”