David Robertson: In Indian football, the important thing is to not lose matches

This is the second part of the Snow Leopards boss’ interview who was a special guest on the ‘Beyond The Scores’ podcast.

With only a few days remaining for the 2020-21 I-League season, all teams have already kick-started their preparations. Real Kashmir are no exception and Khel Now recently caught up with their head coach David Robertson on our podcast – ‘Beyond The Scores.’

Robertson helped Real Kashmir to the Second Division League title in the 2017-18 season, with the club also earning a promotion to the I-League as a result. They finished the 2018-19 I-League season in third place, while the league was cancelled midway through the following year due to COVID-19. Speaking about his initial experience with the club, Robertson said, “I remember that it was Suman Datta, who was helping us with our coaching, who said, ‘Look, the teams you will play against, like Delhi United and Hindustan, those are the ones which you can’t lose against. Don’t try and force the win.’ This was at the starting stages of the league.

“But, later we went on to beat Hindustan twice and Delhi once and we were better for it. Hence, what I learnt was that in the Second Division League, if you lose one game you are basically done,” he added further.

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Upon being asked about his journey with the club through the Second Division League in 2017-18, David Robertson said that they were fortunate to finish as champions. “We were very fortunate because we had a lot of draws. Going into the last game, we needed a draw, while Hindustan needed to win their final match and both of us hadn’t lost a game all season. It easily could have been Hindustan that made it.”

The coach also spoke about his experience in the I-League the following season, where the absence of expectations helped the Snow Leopards to play without pressure.

“Even in the I-League, it was quite a short season when compared to the other league systems around the world. It also meant that there was no margin for error. In the first season, we lost only 2-3 games maybe and still finished only in third place,” he said, before adding, “In Indian football, I think the important thing is to not lose matches. We hardly lost and still we didn’t finish at the top.”

The 52-year-old went on, “I think the absence of expectations helped us. Everyone thought we would probably be fighting to prevent relegation; hence it was shocking to many when we finished third. We had a chance of winning the league till nearly the very end. It was a fairy-tale kind of thing.”

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Real Kashmir are one of the most unique clubs in Indian football at the moment. Hailing from the northernmost state of India, their home and away conditions are extremely contrasting, while travelling to other states is also a time-consuming process given the size of the country. Despite it being so, the players never had a problem according to Robertson.

“It’s actually quite funny because Chandigarh (the home of Roundglass Punjab – formerly Minerva Punjab) is the only place we could reach via direct flights to play an I-League game. In all other cases, we had to fly to Delhi before boarding another plane to the home cities of other clubs.

“Our travel depended on the availability of flights, Hence, there have been occasions where we had to fly players in multiple flights or we had to stay overnight in Delhi to catch an available plane the next day. This, in turn, meant that we missed a lot of training sessions over the course of the season. As you know, our home conditions and the various away conditions are not exactly similar, which is why every positive result away from home is an incredible journey for us,” he explained.

The coach also recollected his experience of home games, as he said that clubs like Chennai City and Churchill Brothers have faced difficulties while playing in Kashmir. “You could take one look at them and understand that they are not very comfortable over here. But, it is understandable.

“Sometimes, it’s a bit difficult for us too because of the high altitude and low temperatures. There are players who we had signed that struggled to fit into our system, but this is a part of the club and we embrace it as much as we can,” he added.

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The 2019-20 I-League, although cancelled midway through, was still a part of Robertson’s experience in the country. With 23 points from 15 matches, Real Kashmir were in fourth place, just one point shy of East Bengal and Punjab who were at the second and third positions respectively. While Mohun Bagan took home the title due to their unassailable lead at the top, the season was a turning point for the Snow Leopards as well, according to David Robertson.

“The biggest change for me was when we played TRAU away from home last season. That was the first time in the club’s history when we were regarded as the favourites to win a game. So far, we had been the underdogs,” the coach said.

“As the game progressed, I remember us going up 1-0 and then conceding twice before clawing back to save the match. That was a real turning point for us. I am not saying that teams started fearing us, but we became more of an established team and this unexpected situation brought in pressure.” 

David Robertson is now preparing for his fourth successive season in Indian football, with the 2020-21 edition of the I-League all set to take place behind closed doors across three different venues in the city of Kolkata.

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