Antonio Iriondo: I'm trying to make sure my players aren't fearful

The Spaniard is wary of the threat that ATK will possess when his side travel to Kolkata for their next fixture.

Jamshedpur FC have begun their Indian Super League (ISL) season in near-perfect fashion, with two wins and a draw in three games keeping them among the top of the crop. Now unbeaten in their last five games in the ISL (including two from the end of last campaign), the Men of Steel look inspired under new head coach Antonio Iriondo. ATK might have scored five goals in their last match at the Salt Lake Stadium, but after keeping Bengaluru FC quiet, Iriondo isn’t that fearful of them. Speaking about how he’ll approach the match, he said, “We don’t think too much of the past. Every match is different, as a lot of things change from match-to-match. We try to live in the present and don’t think about other games. We looked at it as a reference, but we focus on the next match to do as well as we can.” [KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] Comparison With Other Leagues The 66-year-old has been in management for nearly the last three decades, but when asked about how unique an experience the ISL has been as compared to his previous stints, he explained, “This has many differences. Some of them are big, some are not. Right now we need to focus on every match, as I don’t like to make comparisons on different leagues." “We like to enjoy the moment and make good with the players we have here. I’ve played against (Lionel) Messi at times, so it’s hard to compare the quality. I’m enjoying here and trying to do my best from the experience here.”, he added. Threat Of The Opponents The Spaniard knows how dangerous a side ATK are and made himself clear on respecting them tomorrow. He exclaimed, “We know we’re playing against a great team. It’s a very serious team and when I say serious, it’s like they know the way they want to win. They have a lot of quality in their team. I know their coach and it’s a team which gets into crazy matches." "They also have some great players which add to their quality. But. we’re trying to shift off fear in our game and I try to explain that to my players. I try to make sure my players aren’t fearful and express themselves during games", he added. Will Farukh Excel In The National Team? Farukh Choudhary has been in sublime form for the Men of Steel and even cracked the India 26-man squad for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Oman and Afghanistan. Antonio Iriondo spoke about the striker and said, “I don’t have enough knowledge yet about national team players, so it’s difficult to make comparisons between them. But, from my experience, I know that Farukh has done a lot in the last few months and has grown a lot as a player. He can do well in the national team.” Update On CK Vineeth's Injury Antonio Iriondo also gave an update on experienced star CK Vineeth, who is yet to make an appearance for his new club. He said,  “He has been training today, not full training, but we’ve been taking care of him. We have a meeting with the medical team this evening. So, we can get an opinion on him. [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News | Article Continues Below"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS] "We could have forced him to play, but we have to make sure if we do that we’re not risking him for future matches. So, we’ll make sure we take our medical team's advice and do our best," he further stated.