ISL 2017: Coppell knows about the work to be done on the offensive side of the team

STEVE COPPELL’S team are difficult to score against and Roca’s Bengaluru are tough to get a clean sheet against.

Jamshedpur’s coach Coppell, talking about the defensive strength, acknowledged the work done in training to be solid at the back. He further said,

“From day one, we have focused a lot on having a solid foundation,” Coppell said. “We work quite hard on our defensive structures. We are very mindful at the moment of not being very prolific in front of goal ourselves. We need to improve, and we know that. In training, we take every opportunity to try and improve in that department. As of yet it hasn’t happened, but I am confident that it will happen as the games progress.”

The most expensive Indian player in the team Anas Edathodika has missed a couple of games due to an injury he sure does affect the backline. Speaking about Anas, Coppell said

“We had a thought process in mind when we selected him, and it was obviously to play him,” he said.

“To have a strong Indian player at the centre of defence means you can play an extra international player up the field. Not having Anas available has obviously affected our firepower. We’re hopeful that he’ll recover soon. So it’s affected us without doubt. The sooner he comes back the happier we’re going to be.”

Coppell seemed unhappy about the fixture scheduling for his team and shared,

 “We play seven times in 25 days,” Coppell stated.

“The nature of the league creates its own demands. We have too much time in between games and in January, with the travelling, three days between games. The balance isn’t right yet. It could be that the season is a little compromised by the scheduling.”

Looking forward to playing the Federation Cup champions Bengaluru at Kanteerava, Coppell said,

 “From Bengaluru’s point of view, they have an option to make a lot of changes,” he inferred. “Three full days at home between games isn’t too bad. I haven’t been here before. I’m looking forward to it. It looks like a terrific surface.”

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