ATK registered their first points on the board in the 2018-19 season of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) this Wednesday, when they beat Delhi Dynamos FC 2-1 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. The win was a much-needed one for Steve Coppell’s side after they suffered major setbacks in their two opening fixtures of the season.

The two-time champions are on the road yet again, this time facing off a high-flying Jamshedpur FC unit at the JRD Tata Sports Complex. Ahead of the game, ATK’s gaffer took questions from the media in the pre-match press conference, where he started off by appreciating the time he spent as the head coach of Jamshedpur in their debut 2017-18 season. “Great to be back, to be honest. I’m very proud of what we did last year, even though we never made the playoffs. It was a great achievement as a new franchise. I’m looking forward to the game tomorrow.”

Jamshedpur have had an impressive start to the season, picking up four points from their two fixtures so far. Coppell admitted that his former side had begun well, “They have played only two games so far, but obviously, it’s been a very good start to the season. A win in Mumbai and a draw against Bengaluru. I think it’s been a very solid start to the season for them. Obviously, being a coach for Jamshedpur in their first year of Hero ISL, I would like to see them do well, with one exception – tomorrow obviously.”

Although ATK had an unsatisfactory start to the season, the last win must have given Coppell’s side a whole lot of confidence, with the Englishman echoing the same thoughts, “Just really looking forward to it. They’re a team that like to express themselves. It’ll be a good challenge for us. Our second away game. Hopefully, we pick up points. We haven’t come here to draw. We’ve come here to win.”

ATK surprised a lot of people with the tactics they adopted in their last match, but the 63-year-old revealed that they hadn’t changed a lot in the system. “We just tinkered a few positions really. Jayesh (Rane) probably wouldn’t have played that game. He had a little ankle problem a couple of days before that game and I chose not to play him, but he was still able to come on as a substitute. But again, I’ll make a call on that tomorrow. This early in this season no team has yet got an established pattern. So, we’re just trying to play the best game and hopefully get a result.

Asked on Balwant Singh’s contribution to his team’s performance in Delhi, he replied by stating that he thought highly of the forward. “Balwant is a goalscorer. It was good to see him back. We just tinkered a little bit with the personnel really. As coaches, we just try to get the best out of the squad.” He concluded by informing that there were no injuries in the squad and that all the players were up for selection.

Read the match preview here.