Very happy with team's progress, says JFC head coach Aidy Boothroyd

The tactician also compared FC Goa's crowd to their own.

Jamshedpur FC will aim to gain some winning momentum when they face FC Goa in the Indian Super League (ISL) on Thursday. The defending ISL Shield champions have had a shaky start with only one win from three games so far. Aidy Boothroyd is very much aware of their opponents on Thursday. Undoubtedly, he will be hopeful of bagging something positive from the FC Goa fixture!

Here's what he and goalkeeper TP Rehenesh said in the pre-match press conference.

Progress so far

Aidy Boothroyd is quite pleased with how his team has slowly progressed since the opening game loss to Odisha FC. He said, “I’m very much happy with our progress. We lost the opening game after being 2-0 up with 87 minutes, so that was a big lesson for us. We got a big point against Mumbai City and produced a very professional performance against NorthEast United. We’ve made a solid start and are getting better all the time, which is the pleasing thing for me.”

FC Goa’s threat

Speaking about his thoughts on the challenge FC Goa will throw at them, the English tactician explained, “I’m expecting a well organized team, a good team. We were fortunate against them in pre-season, so the clubs have a good relationship on and off the pitch. I expect it to be difficult. They have some good players. Our last (friendly) game was a draw, so I’m pretty sure both teams will be gunning for the win. It’s nice to be back in Goa again and I’m really looking forward to the game.”

Also Read:

• Aidy Boothroyd Exclusive Interview with Khel Now: Part I
• Aidy Boothroyd Exclusive Interview with Khel Now: Part II
• Aidy Boothroyd Exclusive Interview with Khel Now: Part III

Use of foreigners and formations

Aidy Boothroyd was quizzed on whether he’ll utilize all three of Daniel Chima Chukwu, Eli Sabia and Harry Sawyer in the foreigner slots going forward. He mentioned, “All the three players are really good. I don’t think you can ever say never in football. Maybe we’ll see them together, but we have a nice mix of younger and older players. TP Rehenesh is an experienced one who helps the young players to work hard every day. I’ll make my selection based on who the in-form players are.”

In the opening game, Boothroyd lined the Men of Steel up in a 4-3-3 formation, but changed it to a 4-4-2 after the loss. When asked if he’ll ever revert to that attacking formation, the Englishman detailed, “I think these days in modern formations, you only get to know how the opposition team is playing after the kick-off. The game is much more fluid these days. I feel it’s important for us to play a number of different formations and systems.

“We need to form the relationship between style and efficiency. If we get that right, we can even play a back-three one day. I won’t rule anything out. I’m playing a system that suits the players and that’s the important thing,” he added.

Goan crowd a factor?

Finally, when asked if he feels the loud Goan crowd can be an intimidating factor for his side on Thursday, the head coach quipped, “They can’t possibly be louder than our crowd (in Jamshedpur). I can say that our supporters are fantastic, very noisy. So, I guess for us, we should show respect to the opponent, our crowd and the opposition fans. We need to quieten their crowd. They are a good club and we have to be at our best to get a result and that’s what we intend to do.”

TP Rehenesh’s comments

Jamshedpur FC goalkeeper TP Rehenesh accompanied his head coach for the pre-match press conference. When asked about how it’s been adapting to a new system under Aidy Boothroyd, he said, “Every year is a same challenge for us. In the last two years, we had a same coach with a same philosophy. Everything was similar and players were very used to it. Now a new gaffer has come aboard and we are getting used to his system. We are confident about getting to the place the coach wants us in. We’re on the right track and hopefully we’ll get better.”

Also speaking about how it’ll be to play in JFC’s 100th ISL game, he exclaimed, “I think it’s special. As a player, I’ve played in a lot of the 100 games so it’ll be a very important match for the players as well as the club. Hopefully we can get a good result tomorrow and make the fans happy.”