SC East Bengal have handed the coaching reins to Robbie Fowler ahead of their debut in the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) and during an Instagram live with the club’s official handle on Saturday, the Englishman shared his delight with the opportunity of being a head coach in the Hero ISL while discussing some of the positive developments since the league’s inception in 2014.

“The opportunity to coach this team (SC East Bengal) in their first Hero ISL season is brilliant. The ISL is a league I have looked out for many years and when it first started. The football has been getting better over the years. Every year the competition gets stronger. My aim with SC East Bengal this year is to get as competitive as we can and try to do as well as we can in the league,” Fowler said.

When quizzed on what enticed him to take the job, Fowler pointed to SC East Bengal’s rich football history and passionate fans. “The club has a lot of history and probably the best fans in Indian football. When these fans join the ISL, it makes for a great team and I wanted to be part of that. I know how passionate the fans are and I have learnt a lot about the club already. It is definitely a challenge, but it is one that I will gratefully accept because I feel I can do well here,” he shared.

Fowler went on to accentuate the importance of developing promising young Indian talents having roped in exciting prospects like Yumnam Gopi Singh and N Rohen Singh. “You are not going to get perfection straightaway. You need to keep progressing the local players. As much as we have had foreign players and managers come into the ISL, there are a lot of Indian talents as well. We will look to develop a competitive team and try and develop Indian talent as well. We all hope the league can get better, the ISL and as management, we think we can get better,” he said.

The 45-year-old head coach also elaborated on what he expects from his experienced foreign players having signed the likes of Danny Fox, Anthony Pilkington and Jacques Maghoma, to name a few. ”We wanted to build a competitive team and players who are comfortable getting the ball when there are players around. We never just signed because of the good names, all these players are good players,” he said.

“Scott Neville and Danny Fox are both excellent players. Anthony Pilkington and Jacob Maghoma in midfield are both strong and competitive players, technically very good. Matti Steinmann is an excellent player... He can control a lot of areas on the pitch, particularly that midfield. I wish I had some of the attributes that Aaron Amadi-Holloway has as a player. With us bringing him here, he will show us the belief that we have in him,” Fowler added.