Scott Cooper shares major injury updates ahead of Odisha FC tie

Scott Cooper is aiming to make the most of the Super Cup next year.

Jamshedpur FC will return to their base to host Sergio Lobera’s Odisha FC at the Furnace. The Men of Steel suffered their third consecutive defeat in their last game as FC Goa handed them a 1-0 defeat.

They are currently placed in the bottom half of the points table. Ahead of the crucial game against the Juggernauts, Jamshedpur FC’s head coach Scott Cooper addressed the media and shared his thoughts.

Analysis of the last few games

The English manager shared his thoughts on his side’s last few games. He said, “We conceded two goals in the NorthEast United game but that was one or two particular players that didn’t do the jobs right and they’ve been told they let the team down that day.” 

He also added, “You can’t expect your team to always keep clean-sheets. We defended well. It was just a little bit of fatigue at the end there that they got in. A little bit lucky. I mean ask yourself what did Goa create other than long balls. That’s all we saw from them. We didn’t see much else in creativity.”

Optimism

When quizzed about how optimistic he is to turn things around, Scott Cooper said that he is very confident about his team and his players.

“I’m confident in my players and confident in myself. Everybody has identified that we play a good brand of football. I don’t think there is a team in this league that possesses the ball as well as we do. I’ll be honest. We have faced teams that go into a block, and teams that don’t have the composure that we have,” he asserted.

He further said, “We could easily be second or third In the league right now, as much as we are in the league right now. We could easily be in tenth place. It’s not a time to panic either. Tables don’t mean anything until March or April time in any case. If you look at everything that’s transpired, I always say tables are the truth, but in this league, I say they’re probably not.”

Team Morale

Jamshedpur FC are undergoing a rough patch at the moment. When asked about how is he motivating his players, Scott Cooper said, “I won’t let us lose confidence or enthusiasm or bravery or morale, because it’s just how you lead the team yourself. It’s what we do. Our players know exactly what we’re good at. We know exactly what we need to improve on.”

He also said that his team has had some bad fortune, but they will continue to play a good brand of football.

“This is a team that’s had some bad fortune with one or two players who have let us down at moments tactically. But we still create chances. Maybe we could be more composed in the finishing. So I’m not worried because we continue to play our brand of football, which is good football,” he added.

Injury concerns

Scoot Cooper shared an update about his side’s injury concerns and said that Pronay Halder is out for the season and Ritwik Das is still recovering from an injury.

“Pronay is out for the season as he has had a surgery. It’s a sad loss because he’s an influential player. Ritwik Das continues to work on his recovery and rehab and we might not see the best of Ritwik until the resumption of the ISL in the new year. He had a knee issue. Now he has got a compensatory calf issue that’s come alongside,” he quipped.

Kalinga Super Cup

The head coach also shared his views on the recently announced Kalinga Super Cup. He said that it will be an advantage for his side because other clubs will have their players on national duty.

“It comes with an AFC place so it must be respected. There’s an advantage to clubs like us. We don’t have any national team players. Mumbai, Mohun Bagan, will have players in the Asian Cup. It comes with an AFC spot which is good and it comes with a slight advantage, some of their strongest players won’t be there,” he stated.

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