Marco Pezzaiuoli frustrated with revised fixtures; Coyle seeks consistency

A win for either will help them consolidate their place in the final four.

Bengaluru FC and Jamshedpur will eye the second spot when they clash at the Athletic Stadium in Bambolim on Saturday. Both teams are currently in the top four and cannot not only improve their position, but also consolidate their place in the playoffs berths with a victory. Marco Pezzaiuoli's side are currently on an eight-game unbeaten run, which includes the goalless draw against Jamshedpur FC in the reverse fixture. Owen Coyle's men have also been in fine fettle with three wins on the trot.

Ahead of the crucial clash on Saturday, coaches Marco Pezzaiuoli and Owen Coyle shared their thoughts at the pre-match press conference. Here's what they said:

Bengaluru FC coach Marco Pezzaiuoli

Challenge of the revised fixture and Jamshedpur FC

Marco Pezzaiuoli: We need to talk about two things. The first thing is influence during the season. Right now with changing rules and the covid situation, there’s one rule. The second part is changing the fixture. I think it’s the first time in the world that I hear this. I’ve worked with four countries in Asia and this is my first time in Asia as well. This has influenced the competition a lot. The team as well as I as a coach need to handle it. But I think most of the coaches are not happy with how this season has handled new situations like Covid and the fixtures of the tournament.

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When we think about Jamshedpur, they have a great coach and are doing a great job. Of course, we want to win against them and we had a draw in the first game. Jamshedpur are a physical team, they have a new player in (Daniel) Chima who brings a lot of speed, and can score a lot of goals. This brings in more quality to the team and I think the coach wants to be in the top four. Not only us but I think more teams – around 7-8 want to be in the top four.

Our last game was a good, tough game, but I think we did a little bit more than them on that night. They’re again a pressing team like Kerala (Blasters). They have a good mix of experienced players, experienced foreigners and young players. I think it’s a tough game but now after quarantine, we've had three games in seven days. We’ve not lost eight games on the road and we’re scoring a lot of goals. We are in the second position for scoring goals. But now, we don’t need to think about the past. We are still not back to our best, condition-wise, and that's something we want to work towards.

Were teams consulted before revising the schedule and how does it impact Bengaluru FC?

Marco Pezzaiuoli: Teams were consulted by the CCO of the teams but not the coaches. I think the coaches didn’t get asked. Every team has a different kind of rhythm. Now we’re in a good rhythm. This influences a lot but I’m not crying about the situation but it does influence the league. This is the only time I’ve seen this happen. Nowhere in the world does it happen like this. You need to think about the future and have a clear plan. What happened with the Covid situation was that teams could not play with enough players. Some teams had 3-4 players out and some had even 10-11.

This influences the league. When I see FC Goa, they are a really good team who are struggling to get points may be out of this situation. They didn’t have a lot of time after they had a lot of Covid cases. For me, they are really a strong team – the way they play football. In football, every detail influences the sport. Of course, as a coach, I need to be focused and put it out on the side for the players. But this happens once in the world and we need to learn about it. When you want to develop football, you need some clear rules from the beginning of the season. This should be clear for every team.

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(It shouldn’t be) changing the rules during the season like the way you wish and you want. It influences the season completely for every team. Not just Bengaluru FC or FC Goa, but for every team who wants to be in the top four, who wants to win or be in a better position. Every coach has to win and for coaches, it’s sometimes important to have the fixtures. Maybe you get a strong time right now and maybe you get fired – so it influences a lot. Therefore, in football, it’s very necessary to have clear rules. We have six-seven months to think about it and then we need to have clearly defined rules for everybody.

Would a draw mean two points lost from here onwards?

Marco Pezzaiuoli: Not at all. I go into the game to win the game. When it’s a draw, I’ll only think about it after the game – whether we’re happy to have the point or disappointed to lose two. But in the end, both teams want to go inside and win the game. This is what you’ll see all teams doing – going into games to win them. This season is a very tough season and I think every team can beat the other team. You can lose any game any week against any opponent regardless of the position they are in.

That means you really need to be focused and I really don’t think about what happens when we have only one point. The result is always at the end of the season. We want to be in the top four, yes it's our wish. But also how we play, how we want to develop and score goals also matters. Let’s see how it works now. Jamshedpur are a strong team, they work really hard, and it's tough to create chances again them. But, I believe that the players I have available to me will do well.

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Jamshedpur FC coach Owen Coyle

On Revised fixtures for Jamshedpur FC

Owen Coyle: The fixtures were going to be played in at some point of time in the season and every opposition we were supposed to play against are still going to be the same, so it does not matter that much if we play them in our first game or the last game, which is now scheduled to be played against ATK Mohun Bagan with the changed date of March 7th which was originally scheduled for 3rd March. So, it is what it is and it is going to be a tough set of fixtures ahead and that is exactly why everyone loves the ISL. It is a fantastic league with very qualified players, coaches and the main product is that the ISL is getting better every year and we have to play our part as Jamshedpur FC is a club that has never been in the playoffs.

So, that is our motivation, our aim and our drive for this season, to finish as high in the league table as we can, and every game is going to be a tough one. But as I said before, to achieve and win things, you have to be a very good team and we obviously have some tight fixtures up ahead but equally the teams in the league know how tough it is to play against the Jamshedpur FC side. So, we’re looking forward to the upcoming fixtures.

Team's aim going forward

Owen Coyle: We will aim to be as high on the table as we possibly can be. So we will aim for the first spot just like every other team as well but if not the first then aim for the second position and if not second then in the third or fourth place. But, our aim is like everybody else, to be the best that we could be and the only way to do that is by winning games and getting those valuable 3 points.

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We’ve seen a lot drawn matches in the season and we make sure that if we are drawing then we aim to go for the win but it is equally important to keep picking up points, particularly at this point because every team is going to go at each other as every game is a huge game with so many teams involved in the chase to win.

That is why we have to take care of our own business and make sure that we get to the standard that we have set for ourselves at Jamshedpur FC this season and keep striving to win those points and see where it takes us after the 20 games. Our ambitions do not change as we want to be as high on the table as we possibly can.

Thoughts on Bengaluru FC

Owen Coyle: It doesn’t surprise me that Bengaluru FC have elevated themselves. We played a draw with them in the first leg. I had said that they are a very good side, prior as well as after the game. They have got an outstanding coach. He is a very nice man. They have got a very good staff. They work very hard as a team. Young Roshan is growing in leaps and bounds. They have got talented players but so do we. And I am really looking forward to it.

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