Jamshedpur FC head coach Aidy Boothroyd urged his players to be at their absolute best in order to deliver the desired result and silence the away crowd, as his team takes the field against FC Goa in matchweek 5 of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in Goa, on Thursday.

Boothroyd opened up on his side’s performances in the last three games, and stated that the team has performed decently and is glad with the improvement shown by them in such a short period of time. In what will be Jamshedpur FC’s 100th Hero ISL game, the Englishman expects the game against FC Goa to be a difficult one as he anticipates a well-organised Goa side, who play at home for the first time this season.

The 51-year-old also spoke about his team’s playing style, the quality of players in his team, and a lot more, as he attended the official pre-match press conference alongside goalkeeper TP Rehenesh ahead of their contest against the Gaurs.

Here are the excerpts from Boothroyd’s press conference:

Jamshedpur FC lost their opening game against Odisha FC, drew with Mumbai City FC in the second game, and won against NorthEast United FC in the third game. Are you happy with the way the team has performed so far?

Yes, very much so. I think (in) our opening game, we were 2-0 until the 87th minute, and thereafter we lost the game. Therefore, there are big lessons for us from that game that hurt (us) very much. (We) earned a very good point against Mumbai City FC and then an incredibly professional performance in our last game, against NorthEast United FC, which we are very pleased about. So, we’ve made a solid start and we’re getting better over time. That’s the pleasing thing for me.

FC Goa didn’t play well last season, but this season they have won their first two matches, lost their third against Hyderabad FC, and now play their first home game of the season. So, what are your expectations from them?

I’m expecting a well-organised team. I’m expecting a good team. We were fortunate enough to play FC Goa in the pre-season, so both clubs have a good relationship on and off the pitch. I expect it (the game) to be difficult as they have got good players but so have we. Our last game (against FC Goa) was a draw, so hopefully both teams will be thinking they can do better (than the other team). We’re very much looking forward to the game and it’s nice to be back in Goa again.

FC Goa fans are known to be passionate. Do you think that will be intimidating atmosphere or inspirational for the team? What is your view on it?

It can’t be louder than our crowd. I’d say I think we were probably 1-0 up in that respect, our support was fantastic and very noisy (in the home game against NEUFC). So I guess for us, we have to show respect to our opponent, to our crowd, and the opponent’s crowd. We have to make sure we try to quieten their crowd. They're a good team, we know that it's a good club, and we'll have to be at our best to get a good result and that's what we intend to do.

You have (Daniel Chima) Chukwu, (Eli) Sabia, and (Peter) Hartley. Are you looking at playing all three together because all of them are good players?

Yes, all three are really good. I think it’s a nice problem to have and I’d much rather have those problems with the good players than having players who are not so good. I don’t think you can ever say never in football, so maybe we will see them together. However, we have a nice mix of young players, older players, more experienced ones like TP Rehenesh, who helps players to continue to work hard every day.

We saw you start with a 4-3-3 formation to a 4-4-2. Do you think the latter fits your style or will you go back to 4-3-3?

I think these days, with modern formations, the only time you realise what digits the teams are playing is before kick-off because the game is so fluid these days. For me, specifically, I think it’s important that we can play a number of different systems, number of different formations. Style will always be the thing that we’ll be going after, the relationship between style and efficiency, so if we can get that right then we may play, who knows, maybe a back-three one day, but I would never rule anything out. The systems that we have played so far have suited the players and that's the most important thing.

Here are the excerpts from TP Rehenesh’s press conference:

How different is this season’s team compared to the team led by Owen Coyle last year?

Every season, it’s a new challenge for us in football. The two years, we had the same coach, the same philosophy, everything was similar and the players were used to it (the style of football). Now, there’s a new coach and we’re adapting to his system, as you can see with the results. We’re slowly getting on the right track and we’re pretty confident that we’re getting there. Hopefully, we keep up the work.

Jamshedpur FC will play their 100th Hero ISL game on Thursday. How special would that occasion be for you?

Yes, it’s a nice occasion for us to be playing in that match. As a player, it feels great (to be playing in Jamshedpur FC’s 100th Hero ISL game). It’s going to be a really important match for the club, and for the players as well to represent the team in the special match. Hopefully, we get a good win and make the fans and everyone happy.

Related tags:

FC GoaJamshedpur FC2022-2023 TP ReheneshMatch 21,FC Goa vs Jamshedpur FC