
Our Gaffer has quite the portfolio under his belt since he started playing football. From playing for the likes of Bolton Wanderers, Motherwell FC to representing the Republic of Ireland at the international level, to joining as the head coach of Chennaiyin FC mid-season and taking the team to the finals from the bottom of the table to taking on Jamshedpur FC as the head coach in Season 20/21, he has shown that one can throw things at him at any point of time and he will mould it into something powerful and unforgettable.
In this part of the interview, our Head Coach takes us through his ISL journey
What was your perspective on Indian football before joining Chennaiyin FC and did that change after experiencing Indian football in the ISL?
I had watched some games before as when the ISL was formed, I had some friends who had been coaches, plus when you are a passionate football lover, you tend to watch leagues from all around the world. I had also received a few offers from a few clubs from the ISL but they never transpired into something more for some reason. From that point, I was a little invested in the ISL, and when I watched the games, I was able to see the talent because there is no doubt that young as well as senior Indian players like Sunil Chettri possess some good talent and have played on big levels for many years. The foreign as well as the domestic coaches, the management of all clubs and I wanted to have more Sunil Chettri’s but not in isolation with players being in different parts of the country. Year by year, we wanted to build a conveyor belt which kept putting out really talented players. Last year was really good as we had a lot of amazing players on the field but what we want to do is produce more of that. I do not need to tell you how big of a country India is and there is so much talent and potential to be discovered but it always comes down to money whether it is the government or states. So we have to get kids joining in grassroot football and make them play more games because the more you play the better you become. The other coaches and I have also appealed for a longer season so that the players get to play more as when they play more games they will surely become better. Even the national team gets better that way and there is no reason why India cannot be in the World cup in a few years. What I do not understand is how people think it cannot happen because it surely can. Even America was not into football as much before but you see them qualifying for the World Cup. So in the coming years, I believe India can qualify for the World Cup because there has been improvement but India is still a little behind in terms of competing in the World Cup now. We just have to put the building blocks in place and that for me is really exciting to see.
Where would you place the journey from being at the bottom of the table to competing in the finals of the ISL in your career achievements ?
It was truly special and there is no doubt about it as I truly enjoyed every second of the journey. I really love the people at the club and the club itself. Apart from the player they even had a great director of football who knows the game. Amay was outstanding in the market and knew all the foreign and domestic players. There were some brilliant people in the club which resulted in the success of the club. About the final, I have to say we would have won the game any other day but the ATK goalkeeper was outstanding and they took their chances to score the goals while we missed some of the chances we had. That is what is unfortunate about football as in the final everything has to work the way you want it to. As we saw in the Euro 2020 final, the game went to penalties and England could have won, but that is how fine the margin is in football. So, it was disappointing to lose the finals as we had failed and we had the performance we wanted to win. We would have won any other game with that performance but congratulations to ATK on winning that final as they took the opportunities that came around for them. But with Chennaiyin FC going from the bottom of the table to competing in the finals in the same season, it really shows how well everyone did. We did not achieve that because of one person but we did that with our collective efforts as that's how you achieve success in a football club. Everything has to be aligned in the team’s vision and followed and only then you have a chance to achieve the results that you desire.
Do you think apart from the funding and budget, there is something else that is needed to succeed as a football club?
Having a big budget and getting big players in the transfer market is great but it is not always the answer to success. What you have to do is work and make the best with what you already have. I can understand the fan’s frustration on the top teams in the league but this happens in every league in the world. No matter where you go, the big clubs are the big clubs and they can spend what they can spend and that is fine. ATK Mohun Bagan or Mumbai City FC spent a lot last season but we still managed to stand toe-to-toe with them which really shows what we do at Jamshedpur FC. We represent the fans and that gives everyone the biggest smile on their faces. As much as I would love to, Cristiano Ronaldo is a bit expensive for this club but we will try our best to bring in the good players in the team and do our best to fight for those playoffs positions and become the champions.
Visit here for Part 3 of Owen Coyle’s episode of the ‘Beyond the Scores’ podcast.