Jamshedpur, February 8: Head coach Owen Coyle hailed the impact of the home crowd and underlined the steady progress of his squad after Jamshedpur FC’s latest friendly win against Sporting Delhi FC at the Furnace, calling the evening an important step in the team’s build-up to the Indian Super League season.
Coyle was particularly pleased with the atmosphere created by the supporters, describing it as a major boost for the players returning to competitive action at home.
“It was a fantastic atmosphere at the game for the fans that came along,” he said. “Obviously, we will have far more next Sunday and we looked to fill the whole stadium, but it was outstanding to hear the vocal support, the encouragement, how colourful the fans were getting behind the team and seeing the players, which was really good.”
Reflecting on the two pre-season outings so far, the Jamshedpur FC head coach said the matches have helped the squad sharpen up both physically and tactically as they continue to adapt to his ideas.
“And obviously from both games now, it allows us to get more match fitness, be much sharper and understanding the movements and the football that we want to play,” Coyle explained. “But at the same time, obviously building up the physicality and the mentality that we need for the ISL, because as always, it will be a very tough league, as it always is.”
With limited preparation time since taking charge, Coyle stressed that the focus remains on steady improvement and day-to-day work on the training ground.
“We've had a small amount of time to prepare and obviously coming in, I've inherited the group, but we're working hard each day and looking to improve where we can,” he said.
Looking ahead to the next phase of preparation, Coyle outlined the importance of the coming days as Jamshedpur FC fine-tune their approach before the league campaign begins.
“So in terms of preparation, we now look forward to this week and that's looking to fine-tune and implement some more ideas, but very much it will be a continual progress,” he added. “But we want to make sure we're ready for next Sunday at home to Mohammedan.”
The Scot also reiterated his call for supporters to continue turning up in numbers, emphasising the role of the fans in driving the team forward.
“Again, I encourage the fans, please come, let's pack the stadium, let's get behind the team,” Coyle said. “The vocal support is so important and when we do that, it always gives us a chance of winning games.”
Jamshedpur FC will now focus on their final days of preparation as they gear up for their ISL opener against Mohammedan SC on February 15th at JRD Tata Sports Complex.
