Jamshedpur FC head coach Aidy Boothroyd felt there were plenty of positives for his team despite their defeat to Hyderabad FC in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) at the JRD Tata Sports Complex, Jamshedpur, on Wednesday. Mohammad Yasir's goal proved to be the difference between the two sides as Hyderabad FC finally ended their winless streak against Jamshedpur FC.

Boothroyd felt Jamshedpur FC were unfortunate to end up on the losing side and he called for his team to learn from their mistakes and improve their results. The Englishman also heaped praise of midfielder Boris Singh, who shone for the defending league shield winners.

Here are the excerpts from Boothroyd’s post-match press conference:

Are you happy with the performance from the team?

Yeah, I’m happy with some parts of it. I think we had a game plan to stop them and impose ourselves. I can’t believe we ended up losing the game. We had too many players on our side, Boris (Singh) for example, who was outstanding this evening. It doesn’t help when you lose your center midfielder (Laldinpuia) to injury after five minutes and then you lose your right back (Laldinliana Renthlei) in the game. So, anything that’s not going well seems to come in twos. I was pleased with some aspects of the game. There are a lot of positives, but of course, we all get judged on results and we all want results. If it’s about feeling good, about energy and working hard, it would be absolutely fine but we got to turn those draws in wins and those losses into draws and that’s what we got to do.

You started the game very well but Hyderabad FC took control in the second half. Where do you think the game fell out of your hands?

I don’t think the injuries helped. We had a good rhythm and a good balance to the team, gave respect to our opponents. But we also had a game plan to go and score, where we created chances, we’re just not scoring them at the moment but that will change.

We have seen a pattern from Jamshedpur FC conceding goals at the first 15 minutes after half-time or at the end of the half. So, do you think it’s something about the players not being able to switch on at crucial moments?

It's not unusual in football for every game to concede at the beginning or end of the half but you’re absolutely right. When it’s 0-0 and you come off the pitch, you make sure you keep giving everything you got, so that in the worst-case scenario, it finishes at 0-0. I haven’t seen the goal (by Mohammad Yasir) again yet but for me, it looked like a goal that was avoidable. These are the things that thankfully we can work out to put right.

We have seen the team missing the killer instinct. Last season Greg Stewart was pulling the strings and creating chances. Do you think you need to buy a new striker in the transfer window?

Greg Stewart is the best player in the Hero ISL. We are going to miss him, but as a bit like the Shield is being celebrated now, it’s a new era. Greg is not here anymore and we’ve got to have a new Greg Stewart to turn up the energy and the willingness to do what I’m asking them to do. What they (players) have been doing is terrific I am really pleased with that. But it’s the results that will make or break somebody in the end. If you’re in a situation where you’re getting the energy and willingness from the players you just need to keep going. So, it’s our time to enter a new era. We can take solace from a team like Hyderabad FC as they have been together for two and half years and that’s what we need to do, we need to build.

How are the injured players right now? Are they going to be available for the next match?

I hope so, they have been excellent throughout the week in training. We want as many people back as fit and I want as many options as possible. So I hope we can have all of them back as soon as possible in the training ground but when you prepare for the match and you go into the details as much as we do and you lose a player in five minutes, it’s a tough one to take but we adapted and we continue to do that because that’s what we need to do. Football can be great when it’s going for you but can be as frustrating when it’s not.

Boris Singh was outstanding for the team. Do you have plans for him for the upcoming matches?

At times tonight, I think he took on the whole team. First thing is to get him back on the pitch. We need to get him on the ball more and he might just end up being the little catalyst that we need to get the season up and running. It gives me food for thought as he can do many things with ease. So I’ll keep working with him as I’ll do with the rest of the lads so, we can turn these individual performances into good team performances.

How difficult it is going to be for you to get back on the winning path?

In 10 days time, we face Chennaiyin FC away. That’s how it works. We had a plan for the game and we got punched in the face so we have to rebuild and go again. I think it’s always good to settle and be calm for a while, reflect and double your efforts and that is what we are going to do.

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2022-2023Jamshedpur FC Match 28,Jamshedpur FC vs Hyderabad FC