After guiding Bengaluru FC to two I-League titles and a Federation Cup, Ashley Westwood makes his return to the league as the head coach of RoundGlass Punjab FC.
Ahead of the new season, starting in January, Westwood addressed the media where he appreciated the holistic approach of the club, his ideas behind the team composition, and the pros and cons of being inside a bio-bubble.
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“My first opinion of RoundGlass and as a football team was that it had a vision and ambitions like my own. I didn’t want to join a football club just for the sake of joining. It was more about the project,” said Westwood.
Team composition
Westwood said while he wants to work with as many young players as possible, a balance between experience and youth is imperative for posing a title challenge. “If I had come here with 25 brand new players, 10 weeks would not have been long enough for me to put across my methods and philosophy,” he said.
“I needed to get six, seven, eight players who knew me before, how I operate, and my demands from the players and can also be an example for the younger players.”
The main motivating force
Westwood said that his main motivation and his biggest challenge is managing the expectations he has set as a successful coach in the I-League with Bengaluru FC.
“I have carried on my education; I have continued to polish myself. It didn’t stop when I left Bengaluru and hope to put that to use with RoundGlass.”
Life inside the bio-bubble
The I-League season will be held inside a bio-bubble in Kolkata this season. Westwood said while the bio-bubble does help in keeping the team together with fewer distractions, it can get a bit restrictive.
“It always doesn’t go your way for a coach like me who likes to control all the variables. But the test is in adapting. It is about making sure that the circumstances don’t affect us. It is about being honest and providing something people can look forward to. The situation is not ideal, but we have to overcome.”
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