New Delhi: Hyderabad FC haven't quite had the kind of start they would have hoped for in their debut season in the Indian Super League (ISL), sitting at the bottom of the league table with just one win and 10 defeats from 14 matches, including four defeats in their last five encounters.
While the latest entrant in the league, who were hammered 5-0 by ATK in their first-ever match, have kissed their ambitions of finishing among the top four goodbye long ago, they can still hope to make the most of their remaining games and avoid finishing with the wooden spoon.
Striker Robin Singh, who joined the club after a spell at ATK, admitted that team hasn't met the expectations of their fans so far this season, but was confident of them improving over time.
"As far as the pros and cons are concerned, it’s a new team, so you’ve got to give them the benefit of doubt. The con — straight up, we haven’t performed. We haven’t performed, and that’s as simple as it gets. That being said, if you want to take something away from this season: If you come to any of the training sessions, it’s never been like: ‘I don’t want to do it.’ It’s always been, ‘I want to keep doing it, I want to get the results.’
"Anything you transition into takes a bit of doing and takes a bit of work. I won’t hide behind the excuse of a new team, but I request whoever’s listening to you and whoever reads your posts: Just give us time. It will improve. Even if you see us at the bottom, there’s nothing lower. It’s only growing," said Robin on the sidelines of the launch of the 'Adidas Unfair Tournament' in the national capital, in which he also conducted a masterclass for budding footballers.
And it's not as if Hyderabad haven't appeared to learn from their mistakes whatsoever. They collected their third draw of the season in their last fixture, against Mumbai City FC on Friday at their home ground of the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium, courtesy an injury-time penalty by Marko Stankovic (90+4) that prevented their opponents from going past Odisha FC to occupy the fourth spot.
Robin maintained the fighting spirit that they displayed in that game was a sign of their progress.
"You’ve just got to take each game as it is. Yes, we learned from our mistakes last night. We also learned from the fact that we kept fighting till the end. We equalised in the last minute. So that does show the ability of the boys to keep fighting. You just pick that up and take it to the next game and see where the season ends. There are a few games to go, anything can change," said the Noida-born footballer.
While he's represented some of the most celebrated teams in Indian football, from East Bengal to Bengaluru FC, he's also made 30 appearances for the Indian men's football team since his debut in 2012, although he hasn't quite had as much game time in the blue jersey of late as he would've liked.
On the topic of coach Igor Stimac, who took over the reins from Stephen Constantine last year, Robin was all praise for the progress the team's made under the Croat, although he wished he was part of the main squad and not just a spectator to the team's fortunes.
"Fortunately, I’ve seen them train. Unfortunate not to be a part of it. So I’ve seen the training sessions, and I love how they play. The training’s been very positive. The outputs or the inputs from both Stimac and the staff have been great. The boys want to play with the ball at their feet. It’s just on the rise. In football in general in India, it’s at a phase of growth," stated Robin.
The Blue Tigers certainly have shown potential since Stimac's takeover as the coach, the highlight of which took place when they held Asian champions and 2022 FIFA World Cup hosts Qatar to a goalless draw in their World Cup Qualifiers meeting last September. And while the team's dealt with some flak as well over the last few months, Robin maintains that the side is on the right path.
"We’ve all been part of Indian football, and let’s be honest, we’ve all got a fair bit of stick from the public. But at this moment, you read posts, I’ve gone through posts, and none of them say they don’t like what they see. They like what they see, so that’s a big positive. If you hold on to that, results will follow.
"I said the same thing when Stephen Constantine was here, and we started winning games. Now Stimac’s come in… you like what you see. Now the next thing is the results, and they will follow. The boys work hard, young and old alike, and we all work hard," said Robin, who maintained both Stimac and Constantine had their own unique styles that have contributed towards the growth of Indian football.
Star player and captain Sunil Chhetri has been a core member of the Indian team for more than a decade now, this being his 15th year as an active international footballer, and he recently made a comment confirming the fact that he's in the twilight of his career, adding that he doesn't have too many games left to play for the country.
"He’s a major or a big part of Indian football, there’s no denying that! He has a huge amount of respect, not just from myself but (from) everybody in this country. Man, I want to play as long as he can. I want to play next to him as well," said Robin, who's played alongside Chhetri at Bengaluru FC aside from the national team.
But does Indian football have enough strikers to fill the gap once Chhetri decides to hang up his boots for good? While Robin himself might have fallen down the pecking order in recent years, he certainly believes Indian football has enough talent to fill the Chhetri-sized gap, and makes an interesting comparison of namesakes to establish his point.
"Why not? Indian football is growing. Yes, Sunil is one of the best in our country for sure, but someone else will step up. We’re not saying we want to push someone off or have someone retire. We just want to take Indian football forward.
"When there was the Ronaldo (Brazil) phenomenon, did you think there would be Cristiano Ronaldo? But there’s Cristiano Ronaldo now! So there will always be somebody, but you just (need to) have the heart to say, 'It could be me.' So it’s as simple as that," said Robin.
Robin was also supportive of the recent merger between ATK and iconic club Mohun Bagan, with the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group acquiring an 80 percent majority shareholding in the Mohun Bagan Football Club (India) Private Limited. The two clubs are set to compete as one in the next edition of the ISL.
"I think everybody wanted a unified league, and I think each club wants to play the ISL, and each club wants to be part of the growth. So if Mohun Bagan thinks that ATK merger is the way forward, then so be it.
"I’ve always been a football fan, so anything that makes football grow, I want to be a part of it," said Robin, who has 14 goals from 42 appearances for Mohun Bagan arch-rivals East Bengal to his credit, before signing off.
from Firstpost Sports Latest News https://ift.tt/38LyD4F
No comments:
Post a Comment