We need to stay resilient: Aidy Boothroyd
Jamshedpur, April 9: The Men of Steel will be commencing their Hero Super Cup 2023 campaign on Monday, April 10 against defending champions FC Goa.
Jamshedpur FC head coach Aidy Boothroyd has pointed out the need to stay resilient ahead of the club’s Hero Super Cup opener on Monday.
“We’re very excited about playing in the tournament. I think there’s some really good teams in there and we all pretty much know each other, our ins and outs and strengths and weaknesses. It’s a very tough group and we’re really looking forward to competing in it,” said Jamshedpur FC Head Coach Aidy Boothroyd when asked about leading the side into his first Hero Super Cup.
After a tough outing against Mumbai City FC in the Hero Club Playoffs, the Men of Steel now shift their focus on the ongoing Hero Super Cup.
When asked about his thoughts on the result of the qualifying game against the Islanders, Aidy highlighted the importance of bouncing back.
“Disappointed to lose the playoff against Mumbai but we can’t sulk, we’ve got to be resilient and strong. Football can slap you in the face and lift you up high as well.”
The Men of Steel will be competing in the Hero Super Cup for the third time.
“We’re excited, we didn’t want the season to end and we’re excited to play in this tournament with some very good teams so we’ll be trying to get a positive result and get out of the group and go forward.”
A total of 16 teams, 11 teams from the Hero ISL along with 5 teams from the I-League will be divided into 4 groups. The tournament is currently being played in two locations across Kerala.
The Men of Steel will be fighting for a spot in the qualification stages against teams like recently crowned Hero ISL Champions, ATK Mohun Bagan, defending Hero Super Cup champions, FC Goa and former I-League champions, Gokulam Kerala FC.
To conclude the pre-match press conference, Aidy shared his thoughts on competing in Group C amongst some of the best squads in India currently,
“Every opponent we face at this level is a difficult opponent. Tomorrow we start against Goa, and we know it’s going to be difficult. Tactically too, lots of things could be changing because of the weather and we’ll have to adapt.
“And for our other opponents, we know the advantage at home Gokulam will have. We’ve played ATK twice and we know them and their strengths. I think it’ll be a very exciting tournament for the neutral with a lot of twists and turns because this is a very difficult group to get out of.”
Jamshedpur FC will kick off their Hero Super Cup 2023 against the Gaurs at the EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode at 8:30 PM on April 10 with the action live on Sony Sports 2 and Fancode.
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