<p>With a new coach and new-look team, India’s most experienced player Sunil Chhetri is keen to end the country’s poor away record.</p>.<p>As they head for the King’s Cup in Buriram in Thailand, the 34-year-old hoped they quickly grasp the methods of coach Igor Stimac.</p>.<p>“It’s a good mixture of boys. When the 37 boys were called I think everyone got a fair chance because there was no knowledge about what the kind of players were, from the coach’s side. So whatever he saw, was how he selected the boys. It’s a new chance for everyone to prove. The first things he came and said in the meeting was that (Komal) Thatal and Chhetri means the same to me, which is a great message for everyone -- that you work hard and you get a chance,” Chhetri told reporters on Saturday.</p>.<p>“I really hope we don’t do badly (in King’s Cup). We haven’t done generally well outside in the last 13 years. We are alright at home. But we are bad outside. I really want this to improve, and so does the team. There is no better challenge than this -- playing against Vietnam, Thailand and Curacao. They will pump you that much.”</p>.<p>Assessing the challenges ahead, Chhetri said: “The first is to understand what the coach wants and the way he wants us to play. It takes us time. I hope we can grasp a lot before playing our first match (against Curacao) on June 5. The second challenge is that a lot of us are coming from off-season, so we have to work on our fitness. I just hope that doesn’t bite us. We just had 12-13 days with the new coach.</p>.<p>“We have seen a few clips of the Curacao team and individuals. All eleven of them are in Europe and in big leagues which is good. We have got a very good team to play, it’s not every now and then you play teams from that region. And the coach has promised us he will get us more European games.</p>.<p>“I have played for 13-14 years but I haven’t played European games. It will be a good test for us,” said Chhetri who is currently a match away from being the most-capped Indian footballer in International football. At the moment, he is tied on 107 matches with Bhaichung Bhutia.</p>
<p>With a new coach and new-look team, India’s most experienced player Sunil Chhetri is keen to end the country’s poor away record.</p>.<p>As they head for the King’s Cup in Buriram in Thailand, the 34-year-old hoped they quickly grasp the methods of coach Igor Stimac.</p>.<p>“It’s a good mixture of boys. When the 37 boys were called I think everyone got a fair chance because there was no knowledge about what the kind of players were, from the coach’s side. So whatever he saw, was how he selected the boys. It’s a new chance for everyone to prove. The first things he came and said in the meeting was that (Komal) Thatal and Chhetri means the same to me, which is a great message for everyone -- that you work hard and you get a chance,” Chhetri told reporters on Saturday.</p>.<p>“I really hope we don’t do badly (in King’s Cup). We haven’t done generally well outside in the last 13 years. We are alright at home. But we are bad outside. I really want this to improve, and so does the team. There is no better challenge than this -- playing against Vietnam, Thailand and Curacao. They will pump you that much.”</p>.<p>Assessing the challenges ahead, Chhetri said: “The first is to understand what the coach wants and the way he wants us to play. It takes us time. I hope we can grasp a lot before playing our first match (against Curacao) on June 5. The second challenge is that a lot of us are coming from off-season, so we have to work on our fitness. I just hope that doesn’t bite us. We just had 12-13 days with the new coach.</p>.<p>“We have seen a few clips of the Curacao team and individuals. All eleven of them are in Europe and in big leagues which is good. We have got a very good team to play, it’s not every now and then you play teams from that region. And the coach has promised us he will get us more European games.</p>.<p>“I have played for 13-14 years but I haven’t played European games. It will be a good test for us,” said Chhetri who is currently a match away from being the most-capped Indian footballer in International football. At the moment, he is tied on 107 matches with Bhaichung Bhutia.</p>