Chennaiyin FC will be on the road to face Odisha FC at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Monday in their next match of the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20. The Marina Machans have looked like an entirely different outfit since the appointment of Owen Coyle, readily scoring goals and displaying tremendous attacking verve.

The Chennaiyin head coach, however, felt his players will be in for a tough outing against Odisha and praised the work and style of his counterpart, Josep Gombau. “I think we are looking forward to the game. We are playing against a very good side, with a terrific young coach. Having watched them lately, they are very talented, particularly in the forward areas.”

“As always, we are very respectful of our opponents, but equally, we feel we have a very talented squad ourselves. We are playing good football. We are exciting to watch. It will be a tough game. Two very attack minded teams trying to win the game. It will be an entertaining match. We are coming here to try and win three points,” added Coyle while speaking at his pre-match press conference.

The 53-year-old continued on the same note and stated, “It will be tough but we certainly believe if we are at our best, we are capable of winning games. We’ve shown good form. Jamshedpur (FC) game we should have won. We put in a terrific performance against Kerala (Blasters FC). And everybody saw the performance against (FC) Goa. So, there’s a lot to be excited about. A lot to be positive about. So, we are looking forward to the Odisha game.”

Coyle also expressed his gratitude for the hospitality he and his players received in Odisha. “The hospitality from the opponents, it’s a very honorable thing. The fact that we are very reciprocal in terms of how we look after each other is very evident, and a big asset of the league. So, we are looking forward to playing on a very nice field in a beautiful stadium. The hospitality has been great, but that stops when the whistle sounds because both teams will be doing everything in their power to win the three points.”

Finally, Coyle claimed that he wasn’t going to tweak his tactics in order to counter Odisha’s expansive playing style. “Whether we are at home or we are away, we approach the game in the same manner. Because if we change that, it takes away from our strengths. We come here with a lot of respect but if we were to come and change our philosophy, it would be detrimental to what we want to do. I have a group of players that have shown they can score goals. We are trying to be positive. We are coming to make a game of this,” he said.

Striker Andre Schembri, who also attended the media briefing was full of praise for Coyle’s impact on the Chennaiyin squad. He said, “As a team we are gelling much better now. Our trainings are really good, really intense. The team is full of passion now. There is more commitment as well. We are more attack-minded. We are attacking a lot and hopefully we will give our best to try and win the three points.”

Read the Match Preview here.