A workaholic that he is, Peter Taylor has already created a lasting impression among the players of Kerala Blasters. This, within a short period of six to eight weeks. Speaking to Sportstar, the 63-year-old head coach said that he is hopeful of his side doing well in the second season of the Indian Super League.
Excerpts:
Now that you have been here for a little over three weeks, what are you impressions about Indian football?
My impression about Indian football is that you have got some very talented players; lots of players who enjoy playing an attacking game and with very good attitude. I feel that if you improve the grass-roots level here, India would be in a position to produce some very good players.
Given the slow pace of the Indian football, have you been able to work something new with your players?
It has been hot and humid on certain days. But I feel that our fitness has improved and the players have adjusted to the weather here. We have worked hard with the focus being on doing some fast attacking which will be important to us in the season ahead.
The other day, you mentioned that having five Indian players in the field at all times is one of the positives in ISL. Are there any negatives?
No negatives, I think maybe it is a very exciting league we are about to start. It would have helped us if we had more time between matches. To have so many matches within such a short period and with the travel also taken into consideration, you could see some tired players. However, I think the whole idea of the league is good. So is the idea of having five Indian players on the pitch throughout matches. I think that Indian football should look at their players playing too much. They play this league and other leagues and this could leave the players without much rest.
On the road ahead, what is your vision for Kerala Blasters?
We would like to do as well as we did last year. We got into the final and that has been fantastic achievement for everybody. We would like to at least do that. We would like to do as well as we possible can. I know that all the other teams would be exactly saying the same thing. We are a different team this year as the management has not spent loads and loads of money on famous players. But I think we have a good side which our supporters would love to see in action.
I have had a close look at the last year’s league and I think that it was fantastic for the team to have reached the final. They hardly conceded a goal, being tight defensively. But I would like the team to score goals. Last year, the team scored only 13 goals but more importantly let in fewer ones. This year, I would like the team to score more.
Finally, have you decided on the players who will be playing upfront for the side or will it depend on the system of play?
I cannot give away what I have in mind because I have no idea who North Eastern United (the two teams will clash on October 6) would be deploying upfront. So I don’t want to say whom I will be playing upfront. We have tried different systems during our training sessions and I think that the players are adept to adjust to a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2, whatever.
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