Hosts India will be looking to defend their Hero Intercontinental Cup crown, with the 2019 edition of the tournament kickstarting on Sunday. The Blue Tigers face Tajikistan in the opening match of the competition.

A day prior to the match, India head coach Igor Stimac and defender Sandesh Jhingan were present at the pre-tournament and pre-match press conference. Stimac began his address by giving an insight into the preparatory camp held in Mumbai for the upcoming tournament. "We worked very hard. We had some 17 training sessions in ten days and I can say I am very proud of the team, how they executed our working plan. We are on our way to becoming a strong force in Asia once again," he said.

Stimac also played down suggestions that the team may be under pressure owing to their defending champions status and said, "This is the chance for me to invite everyone to watch our games. I would love to see many people in the stadium watching and supporting the Indian team because they deserve it."

"We are quite a new team. We have so many young players. If you ask me about defending the title, we don’t think about it. We think about how to progress in our game, how to advance on certain things which will help us in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. That’s what we are focussed on. I will never put any kind of pressure on my players with regards to the results in this tournament. I would rather watch how my players are advancing on a few aspects of the game," he added.

On being asked about his philosophy for success with the national team, the 51-year-old said, "It’s a long process. Its not only about the coach and the players. Its about changing a lot of things with regards to football. Football is played so that the national team can be strong and make good results and everyone needs to work in that favour."

Stimac has made several changes to the team, including the style of play after taking over the reins from former head coach Stephen Constantine. Speaking about his plans to rebuild the team according to his own philosophy, he said, "Before I came to India I did my research, made my own analysis. I think we play football for the fans. To make the supporters happy. We will try to do that. Getting results but not satisfying the fans means nothing. That's what we are trying to do. We are changing the way we play and it will take time. But the players are progressing rapidly and I think we can do great things together."

He also appealed to the Indian fans to keep supporting the team to help them reach their true potential. "Everyone with India in their hearts and everyone who cares about what India can achieve in the future, we need your support. We are a young team, one of the youngest senior teams in the world. Be positive, be patient and we will surely pay you back," Stimac declared.

Jhingan, on his part, informed that the entire squad was full of enthusiasm and desire to do well. "I think everyone is very motivated for this tournament. We had two games in the King’s Cup and then we had a break. We came back together and everyone was really motivated. There are good games ahead which act as extra motivation. The main thing is the World Cup qualifiers coming in September. The boys are looking forward to it," he stated.

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