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Jamshedpur FC Head Coach Scott Cooper spoke to the media after his teams big 5-0 away win against Hyderabad FC.
On the result…
It was one of the games where both the team knew that it was a must-win game. We never came in with any illusions or excuses. We didn’t give our players anything to hide or hang on. We knew even away from home it was a must-win game. They understood that before the game. We locked them in the hotel and came up with a few rules just to keep them in check. So, just to wake them up to the fact that they need to do their job better. The response was good because we finally got to play a more complete game. We pressed and created chances in the past but today we played a complete game where we converted those chances even though Rei & Jeremy missed a huge opportunity. We didn’t expect a big win but we expected to push hard and win this game. I thought it would be difficult to be denied here. I knew what we had done in the training and the meetings we had with the players. All the things behind the scenes that no one knows but we know what we said behind closed doors and we got the right response.
On the opponent…
At 1-0 watching the game, I was very concerned and frustrated because we had two or three players not playing in the shape we practiced. Therefore, there was about a 15-minute spell that Hyderabad was looking like they would score for the equalizer. They were making chances and had possession and we were all over the place. That isn’t what we did in the training ground because one or two players weren’t in their position and needed to be told hard and direct and they were. I don’t like standing in the technical area and shouting but one or two players needed that tonight from me. A coach shouldn’t need to joystick his team around on the football pitch. They should know what to do. There was a situation where they had all the momentum to come back in the game and then Chima’s goal just takes the wind out of the sail. We are getting to half-time and then we speak strongly again, rectify things, and remind people what we need to do. Anybody watching our game apart from Bengaluru which was a poor performance we created chances and we were always the team who created chances. But tonight, we created more scoreable chances, and we looked more threatening. The only thing you should always look for is penetration, with the ball or the man. Tonight, we penetrated several times and there’s a big difference in that. You could see the work on the training grounds paid off.
On the performance against Bengaluru…
They let themselves down in Bengaluru. They let the club, city, fans, and Tata Steel down. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t desireless. It wasn’t enough desire for what we know these players can do. Therefore, I felt like we could have done much more in that game, and I was frustrated and disappointed. Sometimes, you must call them out. So, you’ll never hear me calling out an individual player. I’ll call out the team. I’ll praise an individual player but not the other way around. We got the response we needed but it’s not just from that game or tonight. It’s the work that’s gone in between the meetings, discussions, one-on-ones, on training grounds, the added extra pieces that we want to keep adding. It’s all there and at the same time, we can’t get carried away, because there’s another game next week. We need to build from this and understand what it takes for us to be successful.
On Chima’s performance…
I think some media were probing after Bengaluru, saying, no, you didn’t score goals. Are you happy with Chima? Well, he was one of the guys up there that did show desire. They did fight. They did do a lot of things. He just didn’t have much service or help. I met him individually, and I said, you know, the best way to answer people that write nonsense like that is the next game. We gave him a strike partner. He had three people behind him. He opened it up for him a bit more. We could see we used Chima’s strength command and protection of a ball. We see what he does in training. We know he can finish. It would just be nice to see others score as well, which happened tonight with Len Scoring. There were chances there for Rei. It was the easiest chance of the game even Monzorro’s was the easiest too. He’s happy for the team, but he’s unhappy with himself in certain aspects, which I always like to see in a player.
On keeping up the attack even after taking a good lead in the game…
It’s a good question because many, many teams in Asian football would do exactly that, try to close up shop, five at the back, four in midfield, and sit back but that’s not ever been my way. Whenever I’m hired by a football club or a national team, they’re going to know that if it’s two, it can be three. If it’s three, it can be four and if it’s four, it can be five. You don’t want to cause it, but you need to start opening the gap because if you got to two, why can’t you get to three? Why do you need to protect two? Look at our performance in North East, 1-0 and our players fell back to try and protect a 1-0 which resulted in a loss of 2-1 in added time. There’s the proof. For me, some coaches might think on the third goal, shut up shop, and take one striker off. We kept with two strikers because what’s the best way to deal with it? Put pressure upon your opponent. Don’t let them have time on the ball and create more chances. Play the game in their half and stretch it more. Why? You can’t wait and sit back to let people have plausible chances to put pressure on you. You can keep applying pressure on them.
On Jeremy’s performance…
He’s amazing. Jeremy is a complex character. But I’ve got a great relationship with him because we understand each other. He likes my brand of football. I like the way he plays. It’s a great fit, he and I. We all know he’s wonderful in possession. He’s composed. He’s like a quarterback at times. He opens up things, but he also does a lot of the hard yards, the rating, the little interceptions, and the tough tackling. He’s upset because he’d like to grab the goal. Of course. He is a perfectionist and he’s consistent in this league in terms of possession, football, and playmaking, He’s up there with the best of them in the league and he comes with intensity. He’s complex but most top players are. It’s just how you deal with them. For me, I never have any doubts about him at all. I just brought him off for the last minute or two. I just didn’t want him to try and take ownership and get a nasty kick or something like that because we’re going to need him next week.
On the upcoming match against Odisha FC…
You know, we’ve taken three points, but we can’t take those three points into the next game. We can see the benefit of certain things we’ve said and done in terms of possession. We have to take the benefits, the proof that these aspects have added more to our game and will too into the next game. The next game is in Odisha. It will be a difficult game. They beat us in Jamshedpur. They have a very good coach. We have some confidence now to show that we can score. I always said to people behind the scenes, that sooner or later this team will score four, five, or six against someone because we create that many chances. It was just unfortunate for Hyderabad that it was them tonight. It was a difficult one for them because this was a must-win game for them too. They went through a spell of 20 minutes where they could have and maybe deserved to be back in the game. Then they lost Joe because of a little hamstring. It was a massive loss because he was penetrating. He was always asking us questions constantly in his runs. When he went off, they lost a little bit of that and I’m sure the staff will get the players pull together and bounce back. January is coming soon. It’s a time to reinforce your squad, recharge batteries, bring in new ideas, and use the Super Cup in any way you want to.
This victory is a significant boost for Jamshedpur FC as they continue their campaign in the Indian Super League. Their performance today, characterized by effective attacking and solid defense, sets a high standard for their upcoming matches.
With that win, Jamshedpur FC now has nine points from 11 games and is only three points away from the playoffs position. Jamshedpur FC next travel to Bhubaneswar to play Odisha FC on December 29.
