Aidy Boothroyd: Football can slap you in the face as well as lift you up high

Jamshedpur FC will want to gain something substantial after a disappointing ISL campaign.

Jamshedpur FC will go head-to-head with FC Goa in their first game of the Hero Super Cup 2023 on Monday. Although their title defence didn’t go exactly as planned, Aidy Boothroyd's side had few positives to gather from their season. They did however finish 10th and only above NorthEast United with just five wins from 20 games. According to head coach Aidy Boothroyd, who answered the media in the pre-match press conference, his team will be actively competing for the accolades.

On the competition

Jamshedpur FC’s recent rise was heralded by former coach Owen Coyle and former (Greg Stewart, Peter Hartley) as well as current players (Ritwik Das, Daniel Chima Chukwu). With the premise in place, it is up to his successor Aidy Boothroyd to take the club to newer heights. The tactician mentioned:

"We're very excited about playing in the tournament. I think there's some really good teams in there and we all pretty much know each other, our ins and outs and strengths and weaknesses. It's a very tough group and we're really looking forward to competing in it."

On their current form and utilising the same

Aidy Boothroyd’s side finished their season on a high as two of their five wins in the league came in their last three fixtures. Moreover, they defeated Odisha FC, whom their upcoming opponents FC Goa had failed to overcome in their quest for the playoffs. Commenting on the ups and downs and the momentum they have carried into this tournament, the mentor said:

"I think we played very well from Christmas onwards and we were one of the in-form teams in the league at the end. Disappointed to lose the playoff against Mumbai but we can't sulk we've got to be resilient and strong. Football can slap you in the face and lift you up high as well so we're excited, we didn't want the season to end and we're excited to play in this tournament with some very good teams so we'll be trying to get a positive result and get out of the group and go forward."

On the quality of the opponents they’ll be facing in the Hero Super Cup

Jamshedpur FC’s group consists of former Hero Super Cup and ISL Shield winners FC Goa, ISL 2022-23 Trophy winners ATK Mohun Bagan, and two-time I-League champions Gokulam Kerala. All in all, they are in for a tough few games and have to grind out results if they are to qualify for the semi-finals. Aidy Boothroyd resonated with these sentiments as he hoped for the best and concluded: 

"Every opponent we face at this level is a difficult opponent. Tomorrow we start against Goa, good team, good manager and we know it's going to be difficult, tactically too, lots of things could be changing because of the weather and we'll have to adapt. And for our other opponents, we know the advantage at home Gokulam will have. We've played ATKMB twice and we know them and their strengths. I think it'll be a very exciting tournament for the neutral with a lot of twists and turns because this is a very difficult group to get out of."