New coach says he will follow the JFC Model to make Chennaiyin competitive again
CHENNAI: Chennaiyin FC start their season with their Durand Cup opener against Hyderabad FC in Guwahati on Thursday. On the eve of the game, Owen Coyle, CFC's new coach - who had earlier taken the team to the final in the 2019-20 season - had an extensive chat with TOI, where he discussed his plans for the season, how he wants to build the team and much more.
Excerpts:
What are the reasons that prompted you to return to your old club?
I was free and had a lot of breaks. Obviously, it feels good to come back to your old club as you know the people in the team management and are familiar with team culture. It's always healthy to work with those who hold you in high regard.
Your best moment in ISL came with Jamshedpur FC (when they won the Shield in 2022). Will you be trying to follow the Jamshedpur model of being disciplined in approach and making the most of the opportunities?
Well, we'll be having the same approach and make Chennaiyin the best team in the country. In my eyes, Jamshedpur FC was one of the best teams in the country. The number of games we won and the style of football we showcased, it made JFC an exciting team in the league. Obviously, the challenge is going to get tougher as Chennaiyin have already set a high standard for themselves, but we know how to win matches and be successful.
Where do you think Chennaiyin FC have gone wrong in the last few seasons? Do you think the high-press game that CFC tried last season was a little too difficult to execute in the context of Indian football?
See, I have never ever criticised anybody else's work because every coach has a different approach and game plan. Sometimes they may be right or wrong, but that's how it goes. It's not a question of playing a high-press game or trying something else. I think it would be wiser for me to make use of the resources available with us. It's a young team and a lot of hard work is needed. As a coach my job is to find a way to make Chennaiyin successful without looking in the past.
You have a completely new set of foreigners. At a time when all the teams look for continuity, don't you think such whole-sale changes can have adverse effects on the team?
Not really. Jordan Murray played for Jamshedpur and he is a champion player. Connor Shields was with Queen's Park and Rafael Crivellaro is a special player too. It really doesn't matter who has played the league before as everything boils down to how he performs now. It's true some of the teams are in good shape and some don't but I don't think too much about that. For us it's a clean slate and we are starting from scratch. This is going to be a little different this time as there is one more team in the league. The league is certainly going to be very competitive and we have to be at our best to get good results.
Since you left, some crucial Indian players like Anirudh Thapa, Changte are also gone... How will the team cope without a player like Thapa leaving this season?
No doubt, Thapa and Changte are best in the business and it'll be tough without them. But that's how it goes. I wish them all the best except when they are playing against us (laughs).
There are teams like Mohun Bagan, Mumbai City which have massive budgets. How do you plan to be competitive with a much lesser budget? Do you think top-6 is a realistic target?
Look, our target is to be competitive and win every match we play. It's true that managing a team with a smaller budget is very tough but there is no hard and fast rule that you get great success only if you spend big. There are many examples of smaller clubs who did much better than the so-called bigger teams. I'm aware of the situation and as I said earlier, we'll have to utilise the available resources.
Have you decided on the rest of your foreigners? When can you expect them together and do you think the time for pre-season is a little too less?
Ideally, like everybody has done (have six foreigners in the team) and take all of them before the Durand Cup because it's important for us to get the team ready for ISL.
What do you expect from the Durand Cup? Will you treat it as a pre-season tournament or will winning be your No. 1 motive?
We want to see how we build up and prepare for the next stage. We are here to win the tournament but I think six weeks from here, we'll be in a much better position.
