Owen Coyle sings praises of in-form stars ahead of Mohammedan SC clash

The Scottish tactician expects his players to step up once again.

Chennaiyin FC will welcome Mohammedan SC to the Marina Arena for their second game of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25. Before the game, the Marina Machans’ head coach Owen Coyle addressed the media in the pre-match press conference and proceeded to commend his players’s feats this season including Farukh Choudhary. 

Farukh played a key part and was awarded the Man of the Match award in Chennaiyin FC’s win over Odisha FC in the opening match week. The 27-year-old scored two goals as his side edged past Odisha 3-2 at the Kalinga Stadium. 

About Farukh Choudhary and his performance

Praising Farukh Choudhary in the pre-match press conference, Owen Coyle said, “Nobody is a bigger admirer of Farukh than me. One thing I always say to Farukh is, I believe in him, I trust him, I kept playing because I know what he’s capable of. Obviously, and the great thing is, because of the goals he scored, it elevated him to another level, but if you take the goals out of the game, Farukh was still outstanding for the team, and that’s what I need, I need boys who are team players and play their part.”

The Chennaiyin FC manager, however, prioritized more consistency, adding that Farukh Choudhary needs to be more consistent in his performances, and this way, the 27-year-old can even return to the Indian national team setup. 

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On the exploits of Daniel Chima Chukwu and Wilmar Jordan Gil

Apart from Farukh, Owen Coyle also talked about his two foreign attackers, Daniel Chima Chukwu and Jordan Wilmar Gil. Chima Chukwu’s selection in particular was a question mark after an underwhelming preseason. However, the 33-year-old silenced his critics with an important goal in the ISL opener against Odisha FC.

Talking to the media about his two strikers, the Chennaiyin FC head coach said, “Daniel Chima is a champion, not only in India but also a champion in Norway with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Malta. Jordan Gil’s been all over the world and had a distinguished career. He came into the league, scored loads of goals at NorthEast, and last year at Punjab team getting to know the league and did very well in the second half of the season. So these two players are proven in the ISL, they are top strikers in the ISL.” 

With Coyle wanting to play an exciting brand of football, it has to be seen if his Chennaiyin players can hold to their manager’s words when the club welcomes Mohammedan SC to the Marina Arena on Thursday. 

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