Aidy Boothroyd: We're back on the upward curve again

The Jamshedpur FC head coach also spoke on Pronay Halder’s availability for Saturday’s game.

Jamshedpur FC’s poor season is coming to a rather precedented end, as after months of unwilling and dissatisfying plays, Aidy Boothroyd's side are finally looking like a strong force, and seem to finally find their momentum. With their pride at stake, Jamshedpur are giving their 100 per cent though their qualification hopes have been swept away, and are not a team that is to be taken lightly.

A decent form in the last few games against NorthEast United and ATK Mohun Bagan, will very much motivate Aidy’s men to do well this time around, and upset a strong team in the league.

Ahead of the game, Jamshedpur head coach Aidy Boothroyd and player Boris Singh spoke to the media. This is the crux of the conversation.

Views on the game

Ahead of an important meet against a tough opponent like Hyderabad, who have been in such fine form, and have such good players, Aidy was asked on his opinions on the fixture. This is what he had to say:

“The preparations have been going on really well. I’m delighted with the response of the players in the last eight or nine games. I think we’re back on an upward curve again. I’m looking forward to the game, Hyderabad have obviously been a big player for the last few years in who’s going to be winning the championship so we’re looking forward to it. It seems a lifetime away now when we had lost. We had chances to win and only got beaten by the odd goal so looking forward to the challenge.”

“I think this will be a close game against Hyderabad. They are in a good position where they will want to keep a winning run going. They’ve lost a few players to injury and shuffled the pack a little bit in the last game. For us, we have to make sure we exploit the weaknesses we find and be very aware of their strengths. It’ll be very tight but a game we look forward to.”

His plans with the team for the near future

Though Aidy Boothroyd and Jamshedpur FC have had a difficult season by all means, their recent impressive form has given the players and the coach a lot of optimism and hope for the upcoming competitions. When asked about his plans for the near future with the team, the mentor mentioned:

“You’re always demanding more of yourself and your players. We’re at a point now where it’s not the end of the season, it’s the beginning of the next season for us so we’re working hard to make sure that we put ourselves in a position where we’re looking to have some sort of say in who’s going to do well in the games we’ve got. We’ve got Odisha after this one, but Hyderabad is our priority and it’s a game that we look to come and try and win like we always do but the attitude and application has been fantastic.”

“We are highly motivated. The chance of playing in AFC, that’s what it’s all about. You want to play at the highest level and coach at the highest level and push yourself. We had a slow start to the season and had a few issues in the first part, we’re now over them and a club and a team that is moving forward and we want to see if we can turn those fine margins, the odd bit that didn’t go right, turn them into positives and move forward as a team and as a club and emulate other clubs.”

Aidy on the impact of longevity in coaching

Longevity is one thing that coaches are fond of, and they love the idea of getting time with their team, so that they can properly implement their ideas and philosophies. When asked about his views on this important aspect of managerial duty in football, the Englishman shared:

“I think the interesting thing is, when you come to a new league you look at the teams that have done well. And I think it’s no surprise that the coaches of the top two teams have been here for a fairly long period of time. This is Manolo’s third season. He has changed things around, built the team, kept hold of the key players and then put forward positive performances to take them to second in the league.

“I think we can learn from that. We lost two key players in Pronay Halder and Greg Stewart, and we talked about how they’re difficult to replace. We’ve got Pronay back. The players in particular have taken hold of the mantle and now we’ve got some new top players like Boris who have stepped up and we want more performances from the whole team so we can put together a winning run in the Super Cup and we want to do well in the AFC as well, so our season is pretty much just begun.”

Injury Update

Aidy Boothroyd also threw some light on the return of one of Jamshedpur’s key players.

“Pronay (Halder) is back from suspension although I thought the whole team played really well last time so not too many changes, we want to keep it as settled as possible.”

Boris’ plans ahead of the game

Boris Singh has had a good season for the Men of steel, and will be definitely looking to end the same on a good note. When asked about the gigantic test coming up against the Nizams, Boris said:

“I’m confident. We played a good game against them last time. They’re a good team. We’ve had some hard luck, conceding in the second half but this time we’ll make sure we focus 100% till the 96th minute and do our best to win this game.”

“Pressure is always there but we make sure that we get over it and play a good game. I don’t feel the pressure to make my game, I just enjoy the game and the moment and be good in my position and help the team.”

“Hyderabad is a good team and we respect them but we also have a good team. Great coach, great foreign players, but we’ll make sure we play well, give our best and try to win the game.”

Boris on his experience with Aidy Boothroyd

The right-back spoke the following words of appreciation for his head coach Aidy Boothroyd.

“The boss is a great coach and a great human being. He has coached many great players who are still playing in the Premier League like Foden and Sancho. He has helped me a lot, he always tells me to stay calm and composed in a game which I’m still learning and it’s good for me and the young players in the squad and I’m working hard.”