Friday , March 29 2024

Jamshedpur FC’s Owen Coyle looks forward to Hyderabad FC encounter!

The Men of Steel are all set for their second meeting with the in-form Hyderabad FC after their two consecutive ISL wins over NorthEast United FC and SC East Bengal.

Ahead of the crucial game tomorrow night, the Gaffer opens up about Daniel Chima joining the squad, team injury updates, and more.

On being in the top 2 places in the league and chasing the top spot…

It will take more of the same, the hard work and the performances on the field. We have to continue to replicate those standards. If we do that we can show and we have shown that we can stand toe-to-toe with anyone. There’s certainly a lot of hard work ahead of us but, we are looking forward to it.

On the match vs Hyderabad FC being a six-pointer and what it would take to beat them…

It will take us being at our very best. Hyderabad FC are one of the top teams in the division. They have some wonderful players with a head coach like Manolo who I hold in very high regard, not only based on his abilities as a head coach but also because he is a lovely man. Like myself, he has also operated at a very high level and you can tell that there is a touch of class about him. And you can see that from the qualities instilled in his team, in those players. We have to be at our very best against very good opponents. They will get our utmost respect. But they also know that Jamshedpur are a very good team and we will be doing everything in our power to win a very tough game.

On back-to-back wins building momentum and confidence…

I think when you win any game, it gives you confidence. Now there’s sometimes where you won’t win but you have played better. For example, the two previous matches shouldn’t have been our only wins, our match before that versus Chennaiyin FC too should have been a win for us, because it was a game we dominated and lost out only on a set-play. In that game too, we had wonderful chances. So, we had to pick ourselves up from that which we did, winning back-to-back, achieving six points and putting us at a position where we want to be. And of course such results help build confidence and body language and make us want to continue to win matches. But we also know that each opponent is a tough opponent in the ISL.

On Ishan Pandita scoring in consecutive games…

Ishan is in my mind every game, whether he starts the game or comes of the bench. What I should do is qualify my statement, that yes, I did say I am trying to mould him into a player for the Indian National Team, but first and foremost making him an outstanding player for Jamshedpur FC which he is showing. And we have some good quality upfront with Ishan and Jordan Murray and now with the addition of Chima as well who is a wonderful player with different qualities and he adds to the mix. All fantastic strikers in their own right. And Ishan ofcourse, has to continue doing the hard work in the training ground which he is doing at the moment, keep bringing his very best. There are little bits and elements that I keep speaking about with Ishan on a daily basis on where and how he can improve and I got to say that he’s a wonderful lad, takes things on board. He learns quickly as well and is such a humble man that will make sure that he will continue to strive forward and improve, and that will be great for Jamshedpur and Team India in the long term.

On factors that made Jamshedpur FC sign Chima…

(About his time at East Bengal) everytime Chima came on the field he ended up playing very well. Ultimately the problem with the perception on strikers in the ISL is that everybody judges them only on the number of goals scored… ‘Oh, somebody has scored 10 goals, somebody has scored 2 goals, so therefore the guy with the 10 goals must be far superior to the guy with 2 goals’. This is not the case. Different players have different attributes. Chima is fantastic at receiving the ball, and I would also suggest that Chima played alone upfront primarily at SC East Bengal. Compared to that, at Jamshedpur he will be with players around him who drive forward on regularly during a match. Chima has played at a very high level, won trophies and leagues. So I am not perturbed about the fact that he has scored only two goals. You know, when we saw Nerka go back to Chennaiyin and everybody rave about Nerka, and good luck to him. But Nerka had also scored only 2 goals in the season. So, I don’t think people should be judged basis only on the goals but also on what qualities they bring to the team. And like Nerka, Chima has wonderful talents and I have no doubt that Chima will add a lot to the group.

On injuries and squad availability…

Komal keeps recovering from his injury at the moment and certainly won’t be available in the upcoming game. As a matter of fact, none of us have trained for the past six days. Obviously because of precautionary measures taken with respect to covid. So that is something we have to be wary of. We have not been allowed onto the training field. So, my worry will always be players and their welfare in terms of injuries, that’s a huge concern for me. Because, when you train, you are in good condition to play the game and is important to avoid injuries. After the SC East Bengal match, the following day we did our recovery session together and on the following day was the day off. On the day off we had one or two high temperatures, so with that in mind as a club we put ourselves into quarantine as a precaution and that meant we haven’t trained for six days. That being said, we have to make sure if and when the game comes about we have to make sure we are at our very best and give everything we have to win a tough game.

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