Reigning Shield Winners Jamshedpur FC find themselves in deep trouble as they lose 1-0 against Kerala Blasters in a recent Indian Super League fixture. This was fifth straight defeat for the Men of Steel this season as they seem to have lost the plot under new manager Aidy Boothroyd.
It was a home game for the Men of Steel and they simply could not break through the organized Kerala Blasters defence. Blasters forward Dimitrios Diamantakos scored the only goal in the game to help his team win their fourth consecutive game at the JRD Tata Sports Complex.
Boothroyd feels that the team must not feel sorry about themselves as they have not been at the same level as they were at the start of the season. He highlighted positives such as the return of defender Eli Sabia and the chances that his team created but were not clinical in putting them away.
“I thought there were lots of positives actually. What wasn’t positive, was the goal that we conceded which was very disappointing. It came from a free kick, which we work on a regular basis. We had a shout for a penalty..but when things aren’t going well for you, you get those little bounces of the ball, those little breaks in the play, and the moment is a tough one, we’re in a tough place,” Boothroyd stated at the post match press conference.
“Thankfully, we’ve got Eli Sabia back through 90 minutes. That’s good and positive. We should have a couple of players back in the next ten or seven days hopefully. So, we’ll just keep going,” he added.
The Englishman explained how they arent good enough as a team and when one goes through such a rough patch they need to work on a lot of things rather than setpieces. He shared how the team was so good early on as they scored from long throws and corners but now their main aim is to get more players fit.
“I would think, yeah. I don’t think we’re as good at them as we were at the early part of the season. You know, we went up to Mumbai City FC, we scored from a long throw and scored from the corners. When you’re in a time like this, you need to work on everything. So, we’ve got to prioritise what’s important and the priority is getting people fit and getting a system that suits everybody,” shared the Jamshedpur FC tactician.
Lastly Boothroyd shared the players that are coming back to fitness from injuries and the first name has to be of Eli Sabia who feature against the Blasters and is readyto be a regular once again. Midfielder Wellington Priori is also on course to return to the starting eleven alongwith Germanpreet Singh. He shared how things are getting tough but the players are working hard to make things better.
“Eli Sabia is coming back and he played tonight. Wellington (Priori) should be joining further on and Germanpreet (Singh) – there’s my midfield. Here’s my midfield but there’s also my set-piece taker in Wellington. Well, what I don’t want to do is to come out here and make excuses because I’ve never lost five games in a row. The players are working hard. Yes, things aren’t dropping for us, but they will. We’ve got to be persistent, rebound, and go again. We’ve got to not feel sorry for ourselves,” he concluded.
