Cesar Ferrando happy with performance, Eelco Schattorie hints at an unchanged squad

Both of the tacticians praised the quality of their opposition ahead of the game on Thursday.

After having two back to back away wins, NorthEast United are back home to host Jamshedpur FC for their second game of the season in Guwahati. The Highlanders under Dutch coach Eelco Schattorie has scored 7 goals in 3 games so far which is the highest among all the teams. On the other hand, Jamshedpur FC are in for their third away game after playing a draw with ATK in their home. Head coach Eelco Schattorie NorthEast United and Cesar Ferrando for Jamshedpur FC spoke to the media prior to the game.

Coach’s Corner

Cesar Ferrando (Jamshedpur FC)

Jamshedpur FC's head coach Cesar Ferrando first addressed the press and talked about his team's first three games. He said, "We’ve played three different and important games. The team is improving every day, every match. This is a tough league. We have to play 18 games and every match is very crucial."

Cesar was then asked about his team's playing style as he explained, "I think every match, every opponent is different and we play in different conditions. I have to choose the players who are at their best for tomorrow."

The tactician talked about his stint so far in India and about his observations of the Indian players. He said, "I trained in Malaysia three or four years ago and it’s my first time in India. I think from the first day to till date, the level of Indian players is improving."

"I liked how the National team played in their match against China and it means a lot. India currently have many good players like Chhetri, Udanta and Gurpreet, who is a very good goalkeeper. They have to keep trying to improve little by little."

Jamshedpur FC's talisman Tim Cahill is yet to open his tally in India and when asked whether he will feature tomorrow or not the coach denied to make the call and said, "Even he doesn’t know whether he will play or not and I do not want to answer it now."

Cesar was then asked about the two young Indians on his squad Jerry Mawhmingthanga and Michael Soosairaj. He said, "They are young players and they are working very hard to improve. But they have to be smart on the field too; like there may be players who enjoy running but in football, you need to know when to run and when to stop."

Though Jamshedpur are still unbeaten in their three games, Cesar was very open about his team's worries and said, "I have concerns in every department, in defence, midfield and attack. We have to improve a lot everywhere. When you concede a goal, you don’t only have to blame the defence. It’s everyone on the field who were responsible for it."

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Eelco Schattorie (NorthEast United)

NorthEast's coach Eelco seemed very happy with his team's performance so far and when asked about if there's any complacency in the team because of the results he said, "It’s very simple, our overestimation to think that you are better than you actually are and of course, overconfidence. It’s very difficult for a coach after three games in a row with a certain result whether to make any changes or not as we got the results."

"I don’t like to make changes because I look for stability. And now we are playing at home with higher expectations as we had the best start ever." 

NorthEast so far have managed seven points in three games which is just four less than they had managed in their entire last season. Eelco talked about the atmosphere in the dressing room after this run of form and said, "Of course, the mood in the dressing room is good after the results we have got. But in football, you are a hero today and tomorrow you are a zero. So, you have to enjoy that as long as it lasts."

The Dutchman then moved to tomorrow's match and said, "I think it’s more of a 50-50 game tomorrow because Jamshedpur too likes to play more with the ball and they are more difficult to organise against."

"Teams like ATK and even Chennaiyin were more physical and play more direct and then it becomes easier to remain compact in my opinion. So, tomorrow it’ll be a tough as their team is somewhat similar to ours so I expect an attractive and open game," he added.

Though NorthEast have scored the maximum number of goals they have also been on the receiving end of many. Eelco showed his worry in his defence and said, "The strangest thing is that it’s very contradicting. I like to be very organised and want the team to be compact."

"The goals we’ve conceded are mostly from individual mistakes and we have to work on that. As long as we are scoring one more than the opponent team, I don’t care."

He was then asked about the unavailibility of their first choice keeper Rehenesh. He said, "The latest development about his situation that I’m aware of is that he has been suspended for three games which means he won’t be available for the next two games."

Talking about his second choice goalkeeper Pawan Kumar he added, "Our second goalkeeper Pawan didn’t get to play much with Chennaiyin last year and even this year. For a goalkeeper, it is very important to get into a certain rhythm."

He continued on the matter and talked about the development of his young players and said, "You have to work with what you have. I have full confidence in all the players that we have. I am not like Mourinho to keep nagging about more money and more players. At the end of the day, it is what we have."

"We have some young players from I-League on whom you can see slight improvement from the beginning of the season to till date and same goes to our goalkeepers. We as coaches work hard to make them better and hopefully, that’s enough to keep them at a certain level."

Eelco then talked about Jamshedpur's main threat Tim Cahill and said, "He’s a fantastic guy and I had the chance to have a chat with him in the ISL promotional day. He is still fit for his age and that’s something to be aware of."

"He still has the ability to score goals. I would like to say something that Ruud Van Nistelrooy had said before about a striker. He is like a bottle of ketchup. One moment nothing is coming out and once it starts coming out, it’s flowing."

Team News

NorthEast United

Apart from the suspension of Rehenesh TP, NorthEast also are dealing with the injury concerns of Keagan Pereira, Kivi Zhimomi and Simranjit Singh. Eelco said, "Keagan is getting fitter with every day, but not game fit as of now. He has started training two days back. For Kivi, it will take a long time and the only other injury we have is of Simranjit. Apart from that, everyone else is completely fit."

Jamshedpur FC

The visiting team, on the other hand, are travelling with a completely fit squad and will be at their full strength tomorrow.

Probable Lineups

NorthEast United: Pawan; Reagan, Grgic, Komorski, Robert; Rowlin, Leudo, Redeem; Nikhil, Okrah, Ogbeche

Jamshedpur FC: Subhasish; Robin, Pratik, Tiri, Raju; Memo, Marques, Jerry; Soosairaj; Cidoncha, Cahill.

Did You Know?

• Two wins and one draw, it has been NorthEast's best start ever in any of their ISL campaign till now.
• Jamshedpur FC have never lost against NorthEast United.
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• Northeast United are yet to win a home game, with last win dating back to Januray 2018.