Eastern boss says club in ‘survival moment’ ahead of AFC Champions League 2 clash
Roberto Losada in one of toughest periods of four-year tenure, but vows to take fight to Vietnamese visitors Nam Dinh
On the eve of Eastern’s AFC Champions League Two clash with Nam Dinh on Thursday, head coach Roberto Losada issued a stark appraisal of his club’s current predicament.
The Hong Kong FA Cup holders lost a succession of key performers over the summer, after being similarly raided midway through last season. The majority of new recruits arrived deep into pre-season, and an unusually disjointed Eastern have won only two of their six matches in all competitions.
They lost their opening ACL2 game 3-1 away against Gamba Osaka last month.
It has all left Losada acknowledging that Eastern were “far away” from the team that came desperately close to a home draw with Japanese giants Sanfrecce Hiroshima exactly 12 months ago.
“We didn’t have a proper pre-season with all of the squad … it’s made it very complicated to arrive here in the best condition, but this is what we have,” Losada said.
“I trust the players. I’m going to fight for them and they’ll fight for me and the fans who come to the game.”