We respect Mohun Bagan SG, but we don't fear them: Jamshedpur FC’s Scott Cooper
Jamshedpur FC's interim head coach, Scott Cooper, urged his players to play fearless football against Mohun Bagan Super Giant.
Jamshedpur FC's interim head coach Scott Cooper looked animated and highly excited as his team take on ISL 2022-23 Cup winner Mohun Bagan Super Giant in their next Indian Super League (ISL) match at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur on Wednesday.
After matchweek 5, Jamshedpur FC are placed in the ninth position, managing to get five points in their last five outings. Though it is not an impressive start, but they have been defensively compact and organised. Jamshedpur FC’s goalkeeper Rehenesh TP already has three clean sheets to his name.
The Red Miners will be facing the unbeaten Mohun Bagan Super Giant, who started their campaign lethally. Cooper praised his opponent and said that they should get respect for what they have been showing so far.
“We know who we are. And we also know where we are." Cooper said at the pre-match press conference.
"And so I would say that, for me, as a coach, I speak for my players. We respect them, but we don't fear them. There's a big difference between respect and fear. Respect is there because they earn that respect. Because they play good football, they win titles, and they do things in the right way on the field, in my opinion. That's the type of team that deserves to win titles because they play good football," he added.
"For me and our team, we are concentrating on ourselves. We're still a developing team. We're still going places where we feel we're still putting layers into the team,” Cooper continued.
Scott Cooper's men are prepared and raring to go and give their best in #JFCMBSG! Read more: https://t.co/OIIIPZORKr
— Jamshedpur FC (@JamshedpurFC) October 31, 2023
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The Englishman was still smarting from their last defeat against NorthEast United FC where they were winning the game by a 1-0 scoreline at the end of the 90 minutes, but two injury-time goals from the Highlanders handed them a loss. Speaking in this context, he said,
“The most damning thing about the NorthEast United result was that we had lost our shape properly from the 75th minute," he said.
"It wasn't the last minutes. It wasn't the seven minutes that lost us that game. We already lost shape in 75 minutes because we had one or two players who either didn't understand the tactical (side) or chose to do something different. They've been told. They've been met. They've been told directly, like any player would know in Jamshedpur, because that's not something we can deal with," he added.
Before concluding the press conference, Cooper wholeheartedly thanked all Jamshedpur FC supporters who have shown their unconditional love for their team and given them the support to boost their morale through thick and thin. Commenting about the home supporters, he said,
“Football clubs are always only about fans. That's why we're here. There's no fans, there's no football club, there's no career, there's nothing," he said.
"Let's be honest. You can look at Kerala's fans; you can look at our fans. Our fans are a bunch of loyal fans who turn up week in, week out with smiles on their faces like unconditional love. I never saw that at any football club I've ever been. I've seen love when you're winning. I've seen love when you're winning titles. I've seen the other end of that as well," he added.
"But these fans are special because it's unconditional love constantly. And so, as a group of players, when you have unconditional love like that, it makes you want to win that much more for people like that,” he concluded.
