Jamshedpur FC begin their second season in Indian Super League (ISL) on Tuesday as they take on Mumbai City FC at the Mumbai Football Arena.
After finishing fifth last season, they have made several changes to their squad including the coach. Former Atletico Madrid coach Cesar Ferrando has joined the side replacing Steve Coppell at the helm.
Ahead of their season opener, Ferrando spoke about their pre-season in Spain He said, “We did our pre-season in Spain and I am very happy. I hope we can be fit throughout the season.”
The coach confirmed that Jamshedpur will miss three important players due to suspension and injuries. Subrata Paul is serving a three-match ban which he received during the Super Cup last season.
Tim Cahill was handed a three-match ban by the English FA last season during his stint with Millwall FC and defender Dhanachandra Singh has an injury and has not travelled with the squad. “Two of our players, Subrata Paul and Tim Cahill are banned and Dhanachandra Singh is injured,” said Ferrando.
The Spaniard further suggested that even though they will miss the three players but it won’t affect the team much.
He continued, “I have 22 players in my team and all of them are ready to play. I don’t want to make an excuse that three players are not playing. The other players are working very hard and I have confidence in them.”
When asked if he was satisfied with the quality of the Indian players in his squad, Cesar Ferrando replied, “I am very happy with the commitments of the Indian players in my team. We have three players who have come from our academy. They can play in the first team. I am very happy with the rest of the Indian players as well.”
Speaking on his style of football, the Jamshedpur coach said, “I don’t have any style. I just want to win matches. First, you have to defend well and then go for attack. If you see FC Barcelona, they have a good attack as well as a good defence. We have to play short and long passes. My style is to win matches.”
