ISL 2017-18: I like to stay back & analyze, says Jamshedpur coach explaining why he stands near the dugout

JAMSHEDPUR FC defeated Mumbai City FC 2-1 at the latter's home ground on Thursday. Coach Steve Coppell at the post match press conference stated that his side had a good start and therefore the current form. After this win they are placed fourth on the points table.

"I thought we had a good start to the season, maybe not in terms of points return but I think the foundation was set with the clean sheets Subrata had in the early stages of the season. We only lost one game in six, so I think that’s a very, very solid start."

He also lauded the team for performing at their best despite the busy schedule.

"This is our fourth game in 11 days and we have done a lot of travelling; we have gone across Indian twice. So, we picked up nine points from a possible 12, which includes three away games, and I am very, very happy. But everybody has put a lot of hard work. I think we rode our luck in the second half and Subrata made some terrific saves. But we went on going. Even when they scored, it may have been easy to relax. We had nothing left in the tank. I don’t know where they got their energy from, because as I said it has been a difficult period. But, we have risen to the challenge."

One may have noticed that Coppell is never seen on the touchline whereas he always has a spot close to the dugout. Explaining the reason, he said,

"I like to stay back and analyze. If you get too emotional, you can’t really see what happens. People shouting on the lines does not make teams win. Players make the teams win."

It was towards the end of the match, the winner was scored by Bikash Jairu, talking about this he said,

"After they scored, we had some 15 minutes to go. I felt the next five minutes were critical. And they got themselves together. It’s the spirit within the players, it’s the spirit within the team. They wanted something from the game. To get that, you need to stand up and fight and they stood up and fought. We were not just defending."

Keeper Subrata Paul displayed a great performance to keep the Mumbai City attack at bay. Talking about the same, he said,

"I did nothing extra. My job is to save the goal. I just tried to do it. We defended as a team. Our defenders, midfielders and strikers did the job well and we got the three points."

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