Chennaiyin FC will play Northeast United FC away from home in Guwahati following a sixteen-day hiatus. While Northeast United is coming off a six-goal thriller at Fatorda where their match with Goa ended 3-3, the Marina Machans played a goalless draw against Hyderabad FC in their most recent game. Ankit Mukherjee, the full-back, and head coach Owen Coyle briefed the media prior to the match.
“Juan Pedro Benali is an outstanding football coach”, added Owen Coyle
Northeast had a very strong season last year and nearly missed the playoffs after finishing last in the league with just five points in the 2022–2023 season. They won the Durand Cup this year, giving them the finest possible start to the season. They have only won once in the league and have picked up five points from four games. In four games, they have scored seven goals, twice against Mohun Bagan and thrice against Goa. With a great deal of respect for Juan Pedro Benali and the opposition, Owen Coyle stated that the game would be about two attack-minded teams facing off against one another rather than the Highlanders seeking revenge for their 2-1 defeat the previous year.
“Northeast are always, I think, very, very dangerous opponents. They were last year and they certainly are this year. I think Juan Pedro Benali has done an amazing job. Juan Pedro Benali is an outstanding football coach, he’s a good friend of mine, and more importantly, he’s a really, really good man. For Northeast to go and win the Durand Cup, I think that gave everybody, and it certainly showed everybody in the whole area, a tremendous lift. So, I’m under no illusions how difficult the game will be. This is a very good side, a very dangerous side.”
“I think the team has got better this year, got some very good players. Obviously, the foreign players add to the quality they have, but equally domestic players, the young boys they have got. Parthib, we know is outstanding, but I think Jithin has improved enormously in the last year under Juan Pedro. So, they have a number of players that are a real threat. So, we are very respectful, very respectful of the quality of the Northeast have but equally, we know we have a good team, we have good players, and we can stand toe-to-toe with the best teams in this league when we are at our best.”
“None of us as coaches really want the International Breaks”, said Owen Coyle
The schedule for Chenaiyin FC’s first ten league games has drawn harsh criticism from Owen Coyle. He talked about Chennaiyin’s need to play seven of their first 10 games away from home and the unequal amount of time his team had off in between games. After playing Odisha, they had a 12-day break before playing Mohammedan at home. They had to play two games in five days after that, and now they have sixteen days off until playing Northeast United due to the international break. Ankit Mukherjee and Owen Coyle went on to discuss the difficulties they would have during lengthy breaks.
“We have to have the international breaks, we understand that, but none of us as coaches really want them because we want continuity, we want consistency. And if I look back to even our first game, we played at Odisha, then we had 12 days without a game, then we had two games in five days, then we don’t play for 16 days. So, of course, it’s a challenge.”, added Owen Coyle.
“When you get a break for 16 days or two weeks, the rhythm breaks. And then again, you have to get back into the shape and training. But that’s how football works and life works. So we have to take it and we have to be ready for tomorrow’s important game. And we’ll put in a good effort tomorrow.”, added Ankit Mukherjee.
“We haven’t been able to train the last three days”, stated Owen Coyle
The past few days have seen a lot of rain and frigid conditions in Chennai. Chennai was under a red alert from the IMD, raising concerns about flooding and water logging. After winning 2-1 in a friendly match against Gokulam Kerala FC, Owen Coyle added that the team has not practiced in the last three days. Football becomes secondary in circumstances like these, the Scottish head coach remarked, stressing that the safety of the Chennai residents comes first. Additionally, he expressed gratitude to the Northeast administration for letting the team use their facilities for training after they arrived one day earlier than expected.
“We haven’t been able to train the last three days because, obviously, the severe weather in Chennai. And one thing is football, more importantly, we want to make sure that everybody’s safe and well in Chennai. So that’s first, that’s the priority. Then football becomes secondary because we have to make sure that everybody’s well and healthy.”
“But in terms of the football aspect, I actually want to thank Northeast for allowing us because we came a day early because of the flights. There was a danger that the flights in Chennai would be canceled today. So in preparation, we came a day early and Juan Pedro and his staff allowed us now to use the facility for training. So I want to thank them for that. It shows the sporting integrity that Northeast have.”
“This year, I think it’s going to be certainly more competitive”, emphasized Owen Coyle
This year’s Indian Super League has been extremely competitive, with teams like Mumbai and Mohun Bagan starting the season poorly and teams like Jamshedpur FC and Punjab FC surprising everyone with their early-season performances. East Bengal is winless despite spending a lot of money on the transfer market, while Bengaluru appears to be back winning every game. As previously stated, Northeast shocked everyone by defeating teams like Mohun Bagan SG to win the Durand Cup. Owen Coyle discussed the league’s quality and level of competition, as well as how low-budget teams stack up against high-budget ones.
“I think you’ll find that certainly the big clubs, as they are now, they’re the big clubs because they spend far more money than the rest of us. And when you spend big money, what you do is you get ready-made players. They’re all international players as they come in. And that’s what the big clubs do. And good luck to them. That’s their model. Again, ours is slightly different. We like to get young, aspiring players. I bring them in and hopefully, we help them to develop and grow into wonderful players. So that’s what we try and do. And we’ll do that again”
“I think the league is going to be very competitive. I think what happened last year, without dwelling on it, is that probably the top five, we allowed them all to get away. And there was that gap. But this year, it’s going to be a very, very competitive, hopefully the best season yet in ISL, in terms of not being predictable. You know, the teams feel, oh yeah, we have a real chance, and every game is ultra-competitive. What we want is an exciting league. We want to get into a game that we think, oh, how’s that game going to go? Because you don’t know, because everybody’s quite even.”
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