Jamshedpur FC defender Peter Hartley says the Red Miners are a team still in transition and that all the players are still adapting to new head coach Aidy Boothroyd’s philosophy. Boothroyd took over as head coach from Owen Coyle, who previously guided Jamshedpur FC to the League Winners’ Shield in Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 season.

Boothroyd didn’t enjoy the best of starts at his new club as Jamshedpur FC went down to Odisha FC in their opening game of Hero ISL 2022-23. Hartley revealed on the Let’s Football Live show that there’s been a big change with regards the way the team has been playing.

Watch the full LFL show here 

“Our football under Aidy Boothroyd has massively evolved. The way we want to play, the structure behind the way we play, the triggers - with and without the ball, there's a lot of information and it takes time to adapt and improvise with things,” he said.

“Last season, we were unapologetic. We knew exactly what we were as a team and we stuck with our strengths and rolled teams over. We didn’t need to apologise to no one about the way we played and the results took care of themselves," the centre-back added.

Jamshedpur FC have bid goodbyes to several key players from last season including the likes of Greg Stewart, Alex Lima, and Jordan Murray to name a few. The main core of the team still remains intact and Hartley believes the team has the right mentality to go all the way once again.

“A new manager has come in and the core of the team has stayed together apart from Jordan Murray and Greg Stewart. The manager has a really good mentality and base to build on and he's implementing his own ideas. Everything takes time especially with new fundamentals, principals, and the way he wants to play and his ideas. We've had a good solid 7 weeks now,” he stated.

“We know success isn't a straight line so there will be bumps and cracks on the road but we have the mentality within the team to have a very successful season,” he added. 

This is Hartley’s third season in the Hero ISL and the Jamshedpur FC captain believes the league has grown massively since he stepped foot in India.

“Since the time I came here, the Hero ISL as a whole and every single team here has massively improved,” he asserted.

“Every single player, the Indians and the foreigners. So it's a credit to what the coaches are doing. The idea that the coaches are implementing and the players who are taking in those ideas and adapting to them quickly. 90% of the game is played between the ears, so it's a credit to the boys who understand that football is played mentally,” he concluded.

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2022-2023