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Jamshedpur were off the mark in the Indian Super League with their first win on an eventful Thursday night. A delighted Scott Cooper faced the media after the game.
On his analysis of the game…
It was a hard game for us because this was our third game in 11 days. A constant pressing game takes a lot of energy, you could see we looked tired. If you think about it, we played on the first, we traveled back here on two flights. A bus ride from the hotel in Kochi, flight from Kochi to the next airport, next airport to Ranchi, Ranchi back here. We arrived back on the second, so we had one training day on the third, and players need to be resting then. And then one last night, and then we play again. We’re lucky we didn’t get big injuries here. I think we have to be really proud of the team’s performance. Of course, at half-time, we had to slightly change the tactics. I can see we can’t press so much for this game because the energy levels weren’t there. So, we regrouped ourselves at half-time, and then the second half performance, you can see what happened. Hyderabad didn’t really have a shot in the second half. But the way we were going in the first half, because we didn’t have the energy levels, we looked like we’d lose the game.
On Rei capping an impressive team display…
Fantastic. Rei works hard in training; he’s got a great attitude. Everybody likes him here. He’s on time for training, he works so hard in training sessions. He’s a nice guy, he’s a hard worker, and he can play in several positions. We used Ray tonight in two or three positions. Down the middle, to the right, defensive midfield. He never complains, he does his job. He made about four or five shots tonight, two or three were blocked. The free kick was of great quality. I’m pleased for him because it’s nice when you have a guy that works so hard. He never grumbles or complains, he just comes with a top-class attitude. Players like that deserve the credit.
On Alen’s performance…
Alen’s just shattered. If you’re watching the last game in Kerala, Alen was doing so much pressing in the Kerala game. But I don’t want to take him off too early because I know his experience at any moment can still hurt the opposition. It looked like a penalty on him. I can tell you, he’s not an angry guy at all. So, if you see him angry, there’s a good reason he’s angry. I’d have to take a look at it again. But the question is, why would he dive in the six-yard box? Nobody would, right? Because it’s closer than the penalty spot. So that’s the point for the official to think about. Why would he dive? And if he did dive, why didn’t he get a yellow card? There was nothing. And so, for me, it’s staggering. But he’s fine, he’s just absolutely shattered. It’s good we’ve got a break coming.
On fans support…
Oh, they were fantastic all night. They were just loud, the drums. Even coming to the stadium, fantastic support. Really great. And they really helped the team in the last 15 minutes to focus and defend well. But even in the last 15 minutes, we were defending well. We still had big chances because we kept compact and organized. But the fans played a massive part in that. But I told the players before the game, fans don’t lead you. You lead the fans. Last week, Kerala fans were fantastic, but their team didn’t do anything, right? We’re supposed to lead the fans, not the other way around.
On the international break coming at the right time…
Oh, I feel like I’m a kid at Christmas Day now. Players can now refresh themselves. What do I do with all this wonderful time? We kept Jeremy out of the game because he was looking like he was going to get a big injury. So, we had to be careful with that. Now I’ve got the time to add more levels to our organization. More levels to the way we play. Set pieces can be better. But it gives us more time, right? I think we’re in a good position. This is a team. Remember what a lot of journalists say. Because I remember every journalist has loads of names. They say they’re not going to be able to defend well. They don’t have defenders; they won’t be organized. We played three games and we conceded only one goal. So, where are those journalists now? I don’t hear them anymore. They’re hiding.
On the positives from the game…
Three points. I would say the performance in Kerala is still our best performance. But here we just showed that we can adapt to fatigue a little bit. Play a little bit deeper defensively. But the points were essential tonight. It was all about taking three points. And at half-time we had to introduce Len. Len comes on to the right side, brings the experience, brings his power. For me, he changed the game. Because he added an extra dimension of physicality to the team that wasn’t there. The center-backs and the goalkeeper were magnificent again. But I promise you, Len changed this game. I believe in him to start with. Because technically he’s a very good player. He’s got talent. He’s not scared to play. He’s developing himself in terms of a tactical awareness and defensive awareness. He’s adapting to our style of play. He takes his mistakes on the chin. He listens to advice from senior players. And this is the type of thing that Indian football needs. Because imagine what he’s going to be like in a year’s time or two years’ time with this experience under his belt. If he can keep doing that, like Nongdamba, Nikhil, players like that, then it’s a great future for the club and for Indian football.
Jamshedpur will next play Punjab FC at home on October 22 after the International Break.
