Igor Stimac reveals 'harsh treatment' gets the best out of Manvir Singh

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Indian Football team coach Igor Stimac has revealed the secret of finding the best out of Manvir Singh in the national team.

A spirited Indian side fell short in Bhubaneswar as they were defeated 3-0 at the hands of Asian Champions Qatar radicaling stadium in Bhubaneswar. Despite a spirited performance, the Blue Tigers failed to score a goal and ended up losing the match.

Manvir Singh, who scored the winning goal for India against Kuwait a few days ago, missed the match due to injury. And the India coach revealed the player suffered a muscle strain in the training and may miss a couple of weeks.

"It was sad, he himself pushed a bit against Kuwait. Unluckily, he got injured before this game. After the game against Kuwait, we had to travel the whole night. He had less sleep and at the training session a couple of days back, he strained his muscles. He will be out for 7 to 14 days and I feel sorry for him, because he was in my initial plan," Stimac said in the post-match press conference.

The Indian coach also reveals he has found the formula to motivate Manvir and extract the best out of the Mohun Bagan player. The Croatian said harsh treatment with the player brings the best out of him.

"I was a little bit harsh on him. I found out it works With Manvir. I did it twice, and he was the best player on the pitch after that. When I'm soft with him, he's soft on the pitch," the India coach added.

Manvir's injury means the Mohun Bagan player may not play any part in the Mariners' next ISL match against Odisha FC on Monday.