ISL 2020-21: Owen Coyle wary of Jamshedpur FC’s fixture congestion ahead of SC East Bengal challenge

Jamshedpur FC head coach Owen Coyle addressed questions from the media ahead of their Indian Super League (ISL) encounter against SC East Bengal. The Men of Steel triumphed over ATK Mohun Bagan in their last game and will be looking to carry over the momentum to this match as well. Excerpts-

On the win against ATK Mohun Bagan

It was a game which we fully deserved to win and one which we were threatening to win. Even the two games before that, we felt we could have won those. We knew it was a matter of time. Everyone was terrific from start to finish. And that is what we need moving forward. We need those kind of accomplished performances for the duration of the whole match.

On if complacency could creep in since SC East Bengal are bottom of the table

Nothing can be further from the truth. I’ve watched SC East Bengal’s games. They’ve had some great performances but have been unlucky in certain situations and with some injuries. They have some very good players and a very good coach in Robbie Fowler. It’s going to be a very tough game like the other night against ATK Mohun Bagan. It’s going to be our fifth game in fifteen days. I don’t think any other side has had to play consistently every three days so we’re trying to keep the boys fresh and ready for a tough contest.

https://twitter.com/JamshedpurFC/status/1336578257940987905

On Robbie Fowler as a coach

He has already shown that he is a very capable coach. I know a few people in their coaching staff and they are great football people. There’s no doubt that the longer they spend time together, the better they will become. They are a huge club and people have to understand that like most things, they will take time to find their feet. They are still going to be very dangerous which is why we will have to be ready and at the top of our game.

On injuries and team news

We have a few long-term injuries like David Grande and Narender (Gehlot). Then there’s Joyner (Lorenco). He is doing some light work outside at the moment but hasn’t joined the group yet. It will be great when he can finally do that. Alex Lima is also not at 100% but he has such a big heart that he still wants to be involved. We also have two or three knocks from the last game and two days later here we go again playing our next match. So we have to keep that in mind in trying to keep the boys fresh. But then again, the aim is to always go out there and win and that’s what we will try to do.