ISL 2022-23: Not champions anymore, we’re in a rebuilding phase: Jamshedpur FC’s Aidy Boothroyd

Jamshedpur’s FC head coach Aidy Boothroyd admitted they are in a rebuilding phase and they are not champions anymore. The Red Miners lost their latest match against ATK Mohun Bagan by 1-0 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, in Kolkata, on Thursday.

The match was well poised to end in a draw before ATK Mohun Bagan earned a penalty in the dying seconds of the game. Hugo Boumous scored from the spot to earn three crucial points for the Mariners whereas the Men of Steel had to return empty-handed.

Meanwhile, Jamshedpur FC took a total of nine shots, out of which three were on target. Aidy Boothroyd handed two debuts to midfielder Rafael Crivellaro and goalkeeper Vishal Yadav, who both impressed in their maiden outing.

Boothroyd stated the team had a perfect plan against ATK Mohun Bagan and it was working fine before the penalty spoiled their evening.

Boothroyd said in the post-match press conference while sharing his views on the penalty given by referee Rahul Kumar Gupta, “As you can tell by my reaction, I didn’t see the incident. I’ve tried to see the incident but couldn’t. What do I think about it? I can’t understand why we have a terrific game plan, two really good debuts, everything that was going really well to throw it all within seconds and it was seconds to the final whistle. I will have a look at it and I’ll deal with it when I look at it. I’m getting conflicting views, from him and other people so I need to repeat myself.”

Meanwhile, Jamshedpur FC had finished the previous season as League Shield winners but they haven’t been able to carry the same show in the ongoing season as they have managed a solitary win in nine matches. Boothroyd feels losing big players like Greg Stewart and Prona Halder has been the main reason for their downfall.

The Englishman said, “The reason is really simple, the reason is we lost two of the best players from last season, Greg Stewart with 10 goals and 10 assists and Pronay (Halder) played here. They were very very good. There have been lots of changes. We are not the champions anymore, we are in a rebuilding phase as far as I look at it. That means we need to get new players in and we will be doing that in January, adding to two great debuts tonight, Rafael (Crivellaro) and Vishal (Yadav).”

Speaking on the team’s frequent changes in the playing XI, Boothroyd said, “I think looking at tonight, we need to manage to get Rafael (Crivellaro) in the team on a regular basis and keep the back four the same on a regular basis. I felt the goalkeeper (Yadav) was outstanding tonight and I’m really pleased. So there are positives from the game clearly but overall, there’s a cloud over us and I need to get to the bottom of this, it’s not acceptable if that’s the case.”

Jamshedpur FC will next take on Bengaluru FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru on 17th December.