Brown urges players to rally behind him as he targets six wins in six
Phil Brown’s time in the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) begins with a trip to the home of last season's champions, Chennaiyin FC, on Saturday.


Phil Brown’s time in the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) begins with a trip to the home of last season's champions, Chennaiyin FC, on Saturday. The Englishman took charge of FC Pune City during the break and will look for a positive result to clear his first test in the country.
Attending his first-ever Hero ISL pre-match press conference, Brown spoke about the challenge ahead and his ambitions with Pune. "Any manager of my experience will always say, game by game, but we know what the challenge is. When the people at Pune employed me, they told me the situation and the six games are very important and that we need to win as many as we can, with a view to my future, with a view to the future of the football club. And I understand the challenge,” he said.
The Englishman then urged his players to rally behind him and deliver the desired results, one game at a time. "I have asked the players for their help. I have said to them I want to stay in India. I want to be a coach in the Hero ISL. And the only way to do that for me is to give a good account of myself and that’s what they will be doing for me tomorrow night and then for the rest of the campaign," Brown stated.
Having known Chennaiyin head coach John Gregory from before, Brown spoke about his admiration from his fellow countryman and said, "It’s great to start against the champions from last year. And the challenge of facing John Gregory, who is a very good friend of mine. I know the kind of football he has played in England and also the kind of football he wants to play in India. This season has been a bit of disappointment for him, having won the title last year."
Brown also declared that he will be eying wins in all of Pune's remaining fixtures this season, irrespective of who the opponents are. "All I know is that my team will be motivated to win the game tomorrow night. And if we can win that game, that will give us the confidence to go into the next game. The long and short of it is that, yes, I need to win six games, but the most important thing is that we win one game at a time," he said.
Brown also hinted that he will be employing a free-flowing attacking style and said, "I think people will judge me on the style of football we play. But if I win six games, its fantastic for me, its fantastic for Pune, but where that takes us, I don’t know. But the most important part is that I can impress you guys, I can impress the crowd, I can impress the players with the style of football."
He ended his presser by giving an injury update and revealed that Matt Mills and Marko Stankovic are doubtful for Saturday's match.
Read the match preview here.