Arunava about Football A look at football & the world through my eyes!
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Jamshedpur FC Head Coach Scott Cooper spoke to the media ahead of the all-important clash against Chennaiyin FC.
On the building pressure…
There is always pressure in football. You are always privileged to be in a situation like this. Any type of pressure in football should be a privilege. As a coach or player, the only question is why? It’s because you are going to be in a stadium with thousands of fans along with millions of people watching on Television. There is no denying the fact of losing 4 in a row. It’s frustrating. We did a lot of things well and a few things poorly. We always believed in the philosophy and should stay the same but we need to change the dynamics in the attacking third.
On the opponent and Owen Coyle…
Of course, Owen has a big background as a player and as a coach, so you have to respect that. But also, anyone who knows football, you watch his team, you can see they work hard, they’re organized. They’ve had their ups and downs like we have, they’re still developing the team. But for Owen Coyle, you have to just look at some of his foundation, the work he did at Jamshedpur. He won the Shield here and that’s something that will always be in the history books of Jamshedpur FC. Many coaches couldn’t do what he did with Jemshedpur. He didn’t do it with big names. He didn’t do it with a lot of Indian national team players. That’s real coaching what he did here to win the Shield, and deserves ultimate respect for someone who can do that. And I think anybody in football knows the job he did here should always be appreciated and respected. I don’t know the man personally but I’ve seen his teams play and I like what I’ve seen. He makes a lot of sense when I listen to him. His work here should be remembered, respected, and appreciated.
On playing a good brand of football…
We have to remember football comprises two things: entertainment and results. I think many people if they see us on TV, will not change the channel, they’ll watch the game because they see we as a team are good in possession and we press the other team. We haven’t changed anything and we won’t change who we are as long as I’m here, we will stay the same way. We want to keep the ball, we want to press the ball, and we want people to enjoy it. So thank you for showing that appreciation. At the same time, we need to win games. It’s the dynamics in the final third which we’ve been working on the last two days where we feel like it can change some things for us. Once it starts to work, I think we’ll see the best of us but I can guarantee the fans, there’ll be no change in our philosophy. We’ll do what we’ve done. I’ve got many supporting messages and words saying many nice things about us. I’ve heard people say, they deserve more points. I’m tired of hearing that but I appreciate what people are saying. We have to understand while it is entertainment maybe at some stage fans would like to be entertained more than the results. Now we’re in a position where I think our fans would rather go home with a win and not be entertained but I won’t change the way I see football. So hopefully we can change the dynamic of what’s going wrong in the last third. Last game we had 20 chances and we pressed the ball. We made Odisha FC turn over the ball many times. We’ve done this four-man away. So we just need to get that last part right. Hopefully, it will come. We’re going to play against a team that’s good with a very, very good coach. That’s how I would describe them.
Message for the fans…
I appreciate the support. I think our fans can count on us. They can be proud of the way we play football. That’s the way to play in modern football. So they can be proud of that. Results in football come and go. They can always come back too. The way you play football is very difficult to change. So if any of our fans are talking to other fans and that club doesn’t play good, attractive football, it will take that football club a lot longer to change the way they play football than it will take us to change results. So I think our fans understand the football. They understand we need to win. Apart from one game at home, the other three games, Punjab, Hyderabad, and Odisha, we conceded one goal against each here at home. I guess in Mohun Bagan we conceded three and scored two with ten men. But the other three games at home, we’ve only conceded one goal here. We just need to put together the final third and the composure. I appreciate our fans but they should know as well that they’re not the only ones defending the way we play football. There are many pundits, media people, analysts, other clubs, and supporters, that also appreciate the way we’ve been playing. We just need to score the goals and collect the points now. At least we have an identifiable philosophy in the way we play football. So we just need to adapt the critical part of the goals and collect points now. But I appreciate the fans’ support.
