'I'm coming here with the cup in my pocket,' the tall, elegant Frenchman stated emphatically. As an opening gambit, it is bold and brash as the owner of the statement. Philippe Bernard Troussier, whose Qatar side open their Asian Cup campaign against Indonesia in the Workers Stadium tonight, is back in the limelight defending 'his' trophy, the one he won with Japan in 2000. 'I have the recognition in Asia and I have quite a high profile in the region,' stated the 49-year-old.
'It means that quite a lot is expected of me and my team. It's a challenge and at the same time I have to share my cup with Japan.' Troussier's detractors, and there are many stretching from Burkina Faso through Nigeria, South Africa and Japan, would quickly point out that the Frenchman is reluctant to share an inch of the limelight with anyone.
In Qatar it seems he may be close to having outstayed his welcome already, with the whispering around the camp being that he has lost the players.
'If you ask them whether they are happy maybe they will say 'No, the coach is too tough. We used to be able to go out sightseeing, drink beers, eat some cake, have girls in our rooms - and now we can't.' But the test is whether they have the mentality on the pitch and in training,' said the man still known as the White Witchdoctor from his time in Africa.
'For me, their attitude has been 100 per cent perfect. They are ready to die on the pitch. It was the same in Japan. The players would complain in private - but look at how they played and what they achieved. I think perhaps they made more sacrifices mentally than they realised.'
If the players have made sacrifices, they have also had to be willing to adapt because Troussier makes no apologies for sticking to his methods.
'Whether that's an advantage or a disadvantage I don't know. I come with my team. I have my machine - my philosophy. The players can be adapted in one minute. I'm coming with my aggressive management, my aggressive expectations, and if people don't understand they can go home.