Soccer-Improving defence gives Marinos boss Holland increased confidence

By Michael christian church

YOKOHAMA, - Former England supporter manager Steve Holland testament top his Yokohama F Marinos face into the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League Elite next month increasingly confident the Japanese club can compete with Saudi Arabia's cash-rich elite.

Holland, who worked as Gareth Southgate's number two for eight years, was appointed by the J-League outfit in December and has had to reconstruct a team that leaked goals last year, first under Harry Kewell and then interim boss John Hutchinson.

On Tuesday Holland led Marinos to a 4-1 victory over Shanghai Port to progress to the last eight of the continental championship, setting up a potential clash with the region's biggest spending clubs early in the 54-year-old's tenure.

"I guess we're about to find out," Holland said when asked if his side would be equipped to handle opponents from Saudi Arabia such as Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr in the next phase.

"I think that the team is improving. Last year the team conceded so many goals that that had to be my priority when I started, to try to address that. That has looked better and in the last weeks we have been really pushing the offensive side.

"I think tonight you've seen some signs of that, but also last week in Shanghai those signs were there and in the last J-League game also. I think the team is improving," he added referring to their 1-0 win in the first leg.

"Can we beat the teams from the west? That remains to be seen, but I think the team is going in a good direction.

"They will have belief and confidence, and also because of their disappointment last year they will be very motivated. So let's see."

Marinos reached the final of last year's competition despite their porous back line, going on to lose 5-1 on the road in the second leg to Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates having secured a 2-1 first-leg advantage at home.

Holland's side had few problems on Tuesday against a Shanghai Port outfit led by former Marinos manager Kevin Muscat, with Brazilian striker Anderson Lopes scoring twice to take over as the tournament's top scorer.

The win means Marinos go into next Monday's draw for the centralised finals phase in Jeddah, beginning on April 25 and concluding on May 3.

"The team has gone through to the next stage and that was the most important thing,' said Lopes, who has now scored nine times in the competition. "We're all happy about that.

"We had the disappointment of last season, in the second leg where we couldn't get the title.

"Now we have the chance to get a title that we haven't won before. That will be the next challenge for us."

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