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Ashley Westwood makes his return to Indian football as Head Coach of RoundGlass Punjab FC and the Englishman has assembled an eye-catching side with a mix of young prospects and stalwarts. He took some out to attend a virtual press conference alongside midfielder Joseba Beitia and addressed the media.
“It was going to take something ambitious to bring me back to India,” he maintains. “The project was to make a footprint in Indian football by providing the right facilities and reaching the top.”
RoundGlass Punjab FC have dipped into the transfer market to sign a number of players familiar to Westwood during his first spell in India as head coach of Bengaluru FC namely – Rino Anto, C.K. Vineeth and Robin Singh.
“All of them have reached the heights of Indian football and fallen away at some point,” said Westwood. “So, they definitely have a point to prove and sometimes those are the best players to have.”
Ashley Westwood, whose playing career spanned two decades in the English game, points out that his reputation would always precede him in Indian football but that is not something he dwells too much on.
“Whatever I have achieved in my previous spell would always bring pressure but it doesn’t bother me,” he maintained. “The pressure amongst the players is something that comes from within and they’re still fighting to be in the starting line-up on the opening day. You don’t want to play football without the pressure.”
Beitia, in his third season in Indian football, is keen to have success with his new head coach.
“As soon as I heard he was going to be our coach, I was looking forward to working with him and having success together given his track record in Indian football,” he said.
“We are training very hard and we have a very good atmosphere and everyone is ready for the challenge of the I-League,” he concluded.
RoundGlass Punjab FC open their I-League campaign against newly promoted Rajasthan United on December 26.
