Vincenzo Alberto Annese: I can be arrogant but I want the team to win

NorthEast United are on a eight-match losing streak.

A breath of fresh air can be felt around NorthEast United as the club has appointed a new head coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese. The move was executed keeping in mind the club’s run of form this season and with a hope to turn things around.

Next up, the Highlanders face the Marina Machans from Chennai with a hope to bring an end to their losing streak. Ahead of their next game, new head coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese addressed the media.

New challenge 

The Italian coach was thankful to the club on being appointed as the new manager. He further mentioned that he only plays to win and is focused on the Chennaiyin FC game.

“It’s an honour to be a part of NorthEast United. For me it’s an honour that this club is purely confident in me. I don’t think about the eight losses, I’m only focused on tomorrow.

"It must be a positive result for us tomorrow and it will be a very complicated game for the opposing team and I’m very excited to start tomorrow. It will be a game with goals. I play only to win, I love to take risks and attack every time."

He added, "I want to put all my motivation for all the players, staff and supporters. I can be arrogant, but I want the team to win."

Impression of the club

Vincenzo shared his impressions of NorthEast United. He said that boys are highly motivated and have shown good signs in training. He also mentioned changing the mentality alongside the system is very important.

“The guys are very motivated and ready to play in a different style tomorrow. We’ll press more and try to impress the opponent team as we are playing at home. We need to change the mentality of the players alongside the system,” he stated.

Impression of the league

The new coach shared his thoughts on the league and remarked on his former side’s performance against ATK Mohun Bagan. He further went on to appreciate the quality of the players in the league.

“There are two different leagues and I’m very motivated to be a part of the ISL. I know there are good players in the I-league as well as the league (ISL). I’ll communicate more about it in due course. We defeated ATK Mohun Bagan in the AFC Cup last season with Gokulam Kerala.

"In ISL, both foreigners and Indian players are of good quality. We face a good team tomorrow who come into the game with two defeats. They are angry and so are we,” he asserted.

Thoughts on Chennaiyin FC

Vincenzo Alberto Annese shared his words on his next opponent Chennaiyin FC. He said that changing the mentality of the players and being together on the pitch is very important. 

“Each team in the league is good. Tomorrow it's going to be important to change the mentality. We need to be determined for each ball, press hard and try to score first, and create some important impact.

"When we’ll work together, attack together and defend together, everybody will watch our job. We have had only one day, but I believe there will be something positive tomorrow,” he said.

Message to the fans

The head coach concluded by sharing a message to the fans and said that they need to be supportive towards the players. It’s the time when the teams needs positivity around them.

"The fans must support us. I don’t like anything negative about them. If they want to criticise, they can criticise me, not the players. The fans must support the players because they give us the win. If something happens, I’m responsible. So, we need to be positive and the win will come. I want some positive messages,” he quipped.