Phil Brown: Everything went wrong, the result is down to me

The Englishman admitted his own mistakes in team selection and cautioned his side to get back together after the heavy loss.

Life in the Indian Super League (ISL) started on a disastrous note for Phil Brown and Hyderabad FC, who suffered a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of ATK at the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday. After David Williams’ brace and Roy Krishna’s goal had given the hosts the lead in the first half, a quick-fire double from Edu Garcia more piled misery on the visitors.

Phil Brown wasn’t up for any excuses after the defeat and took it all upon himself for the loss. When asked about what went wrong, he said, "Everything went wrong. Our preparation from pre-season has been very good. The fitness levels have been superb. But, then again, nothing prepares you for the first game."

"ATK came up with the tramps on. The system we played should’ve suited the system they played in the first game. But, that proved not to be the case."

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"Anything that could go wrong went wrong. The result is down to me. I didn’t see this result coming. I felt we would give them a tough game," Brown admitted.

"But, now we have 6-7 players lying on the treatment table with injuries. There’s a lot of hard work to be done to get back. We won’t hide behind anything," he added.

Hyderabad FC created very few chances during the game and their finishing was poor. Brown pointed out a problem with Bobo and why his strikers didn’t perform to their best.

"There’s a technical problem with Bobo. Unless that is solved, my strikeforce is minimum. Playing with Robin upfront, I came in the game with a positive mood. I tried to play with three potential goalscorers, in a system that suits them. The message was damage limitation with 3-0 down. We had a few chances, including the (Giles) Barnes one in the 47th minute. But, we deserved nothing from this game. I hold myself responsible for the loss."

Multiple players of Hyderabad FC picked up slight knocks during the game. When asked about the seriousness of them, Brown explained, “I don’t know how serious they are. Marcelinho was cramped out. Barnes has damaged his hamstring. I expected 60-70 minutes off Barnes coming into the game."

"We couldn’t do anything on substituting him, as all three were done before. Nikhil (Poojary) struggled with an injury. Adil (Khan) suffered before the game, as did Danmawia Ralte. Sahil Panwar also picked up something. But, now we must dust ourselves done, try to clear up the treatment table and get back on a winning momentum," Phil Brown asserted.

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Finally, when asked whether the climate and hostile atmosphere played against their favour, the Englishman said, "The players on the training ground are playing well under pressure. When you’re playing under that atmosphere, you must have a strength of character to stand up to that. Not too many came through that today, which is a bad sign."

"We must resolve that immediately, be it with a change in personnel or a change in system. We must stand up to the rigours of football. We’re in the top division of India and we must enjoy the pressure. Tonight, we didn’t do that," he concluded.