Trying our best to get back to winning ways, asserts Scott Cooper

The Jamshedpur FC coach feels both teams will be on pressure to earn points.

In a pivotal clash of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 season, Jamshedpur FC is set to face off against the Nizams at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad. The stakes are high as both teams find themselves in the lower echelons of the league standings, with Jamshedpur FC currently at 11th and Hyderabad FC at 12th position.

With ambitions of breaking into the top six, the impending matchup promises to be a fiercely contested encounter as both teams vie for a chance to revitalize their campaigns.

Scott Cooper addressed the media prior to the crucial matchup with Hyderabad FC. Here are the excerpts from the pre-match press conference:

Thoughts on tomorrow’s game

The Jamshedpur FC manager demonstrated his desperation for three points and how the club is focused on playing their style of football in order to win this away game.

Scott Cooper said, “We will try to play a good game of football and hopefully, we will win too. We believe in our philosophy and will address the areas where we feel we need to improve. We play the way I know we can play. Trust me, I don’t think what’s done is done, so what we are focusing on is to win and work there, so hopefully, I hope, we work hard and we play our football.”

The coach further added,” It’s the same as every other match. We are trying our best to get back to the winning ways. The team is training hard so hopefully we start from here. We are looking forward to a good game. I think we probably played the worst against Hyderabad in the previous encounter. We’ve played some very good games and we’ve got nothing against Hyderabad.”

Regarding his stance on opponents

Scoot Cooper discussed the opponents they will face tomorrow, as well as how he likes the Nizams’ playing style and how both teams are currently in the similar position and hoping to turn their season around.

He stated, “I see it as a game that both teams need to win. Therefore, both teams and staff are under pressure to deliver points. You don’t need to hide away from that. It’s a must-win game for fans, owners, coaches, players, and both teams. They came to Jamshedpur and played very good football. I like watching Hyderabad play. I think they’ve got a nice passing and possession game. It’s modern football. You can see the influence of coaches like Conor Nestor. He’s a very good coach and I’m sure in time everybody will see that.”

The tactician also stated, “They play well. If you ask me to rate their football philosophy or the way they play? I appreciate Hyderabad as much as I do for any team in the league. We’re very similar. They like to keep possession. There’s a nice philosophy of football you can identify with.

“The end product for them is like us. I think we’ve been in a few more narrow defeats but both teams are in a similar situation. It’s not that they’re being outplayed, probably not getting the run, maybe the odd decision or two. I like the control possession. I like seeing that compared to some other teams that just go route one and play direct football. I look at them as a good footballing team.”

Reflections on the last match performance against Bengaluru

The coach emphasized the team’s performance in their most recent match against Bengaluru FC, in which they suffered their sixth defeat of the season. Scott Cooper said, “We can say by the locker room, that’s all okay if the work rate will be at a level in Bangalore, to the frenzy of almost desperation football that gave us chances. That wasn’t real football at all. We got chances. The keeper made two saves with the crossbar. They were not developed chances so I don’t care how the players took it.”

The manager concluded by saying, “To be honest, I don’t care if they took it well or not. You have to do your job. There’s no point in thinking about that. Do your job and do it well. We’re proud of the football we’ve played. Proud of it. When you lose all your games by one goal and if you just drop the work rate a little bit then you’re never going to get past that margin and it will keep happening. We have to find extra design. That’s what we’re looking for from the team.”

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