Would like a mini pre-season if normalcy returns, says Chennai City FC manager Akbar

Chennai City was last seen in action on March 14 in a curtailed I-League season and is set to complete its continental commitments – at least five group stage games – in October and November at a centralised venue. Before the coronavirus pandemic brought the competition to a halt, CCFC was involved in only one Group E fixture, against Maldives’s Maziya Sports and Recreation Club in Chennai.

“There is no clarity on the venues that are available for training. If a venue is available and the authorities allow us, I would like to have a mini pre-season,” Akbar told DT Next. “However, I don’t know where we will organise it. Flight restrictions still seem to be a concern. We will have more clarity maybe next month,” he added.

Having inspired Chennai City to the I-League title in the 2018-19 season, Akbar is keeping himself productively occupied during the break from the game. The 44-year-old, a couple of months back, returned to his homeland Singapore, where a number of restrictive measures have been relaxed by the country’s government.

“Things are okay. I have been doing lots of reading and generating some radical ideas and tactics. If we are to resume, I would like to put those plans into practice and see the outcome,” he said. “It has been a time to reflect, assess and plan. Although training on the field is better, health and lives (of people) are more important. So, we have to abide by the rules and hope for the best.”

CCFC’s domestic players, most of whom are from Tamil Nadu, have been locked up in their homes for more than three months because of the strict rules in place.

Asked if he is keeping a tab on his boys, Akbar replied, “We are having weekly sessions on football intelligence. We have also recommended an app to the players which tracks their running. Those permitted to run in their premises are submitting their figures.”