SC East Bengal's former interim head coach Renedy Singh lauded his players for their fight and grit despite facing 1-0 defeat against Jamshedpur FC in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) on Tuesday, a match that brought to his spell in-charge of the first team to an end.

Renedy fielded an all-Indian eleven which was a first for any team in the Hero ISL history. However, a late goal from Ishan Pandita meant the Red and Gold brigade had to return empty-handed from the match.

While speaking to The Times of India in an interview Singh said, “My core philosophy is simple: When you defend well, there will be a chance to score. I had been assisting coach Manuel Diaz and saw that what we need to do is defend and defend well. Yet, I don't play this type of game. I play out from the back and I play the passing game. But in India, we cannot play from the back unless we have the proper technique. Of course, these boys have great hearts. They can fight, they’re strong, they can run but we are not technically very sound."

Singh was understandably very disappointed with the defeat. While talking about playing an all-Indian line-up, he added, “You know everyone was saying before the start, ‘Oh, the Indian players are bad. This is bad. This cannot happen in the ISL. These (Indian) players are not good enough.’ If you think the players are not good enough, don't sign them, but if you have, let’s work with what we have. When we drew my first two games, the players began gaining in confidence. They were also aware that we could not play with any foreigners. We didn’t have any other option. So, when we got together I said, this is the time for you guys to prove that the Indians can also do well. It was as simple as that.”

The 42-year old believes that in the future, Indian coaches in the ISL won’t be a rarity, he said,” This was the best chance to prove that we also can do it. No Indian is going to get it easy and I know no Indian is going to get the best team. This was the best possible opportunity and I kept telling myself whenever I was alone that you are not going to get a better chance than this. If you can prove yourself, it will only get better. I’m happy with the last three matches, the boys have shown that this can continue for Indian coaches in the ISL."

Renedy Singh has passed on the baton to Mario Rivera as head coach of SC East Bengal. The Red and Gold brigade will be up against FC Goa in their next match on Wednesday.