“Playing China, who are 94th in the world, is different from playing Korea,” Westwood said. “We want to attack and score, we don’t go many games without scoring.
“We have a good, highly qualified coaching staff, we know what we’re doing, and we’ll come up with something to impose ourselves on China.
“We won’t be looking to defend, defend. Part of football is coming up with a plan. Hopefully, the one for China works. If it doesn’t, we’ll learn another lesson.”
While Westwood played down China as “just another game for me,” he acknowledged he had “not come here to finish with no points”.
“There are loads of reasons to do well,” Westwood said. “Players will have their own personal motivations. I’m sure a lot who haven’t got a Chinese club will be looking to impress to get one.
“We never rest for a second on the sidelines, and hopefully that transfers to the players. I think it did against Korea, they just came up against a team better than us to a man.
“My staff and I don’t like losing, regardless of who we play … we want to win everything. That’s how I’ve been bred.
“We can’t guarantee we’ll win [against China], but we can guarantee our level of performance and commitment.”
Westwood is waiting to learn how many of his seven players contracted to mainland Chinese clubs are going to be recalled before next week’s international.
“This tournament’s not in a Fifa window, when we’re dealing with a club that pays their wages, we have no control, we can only ask players for their views,” Westwood said. “They’re all in different situations in their careers, and some don’t play regularly for their clubs, so we won’t be losing everybody.”
Hong Kong’s meeting with China will kick off at 4pm local time, when temperatures under a scorching sun over the past week have climbed beyond 35 degrees.
Westwood said that during a four-day camp back at home, they trained in the morning to prepare for the heat.
The Englishman also has compatriot Chris Neville on his staff as a strength and conditioning consultant. Neville, who has worked for Portsmouth, Blackburn Rovers and LA Galaxy, was the English FA’s conditioning coach from 2012 to 2016.
“He helped England prepare for the heat at the [2014] World Cup in Brazil,” Westwood said. “We’ve educated the players on hydration, and we’ll have cold towels and ice. We’ve given them the information, I hope they take it on board.”
https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3317944/east-asian-football-championship-hong-kong-out-impose-ourselves-china