Coach Manolo discusses Hyderabad’s clash against Jamshedpur FC

On the win over Mumbai City…

Obviously, when you win a game, especially against the current champions, the morale is high. After the loss in the first game, this result helped us recover our confidence. We showed that we can beat any team. If you can beat the champions, you can beat anyone and that is what I believe in.

We cannot recover the three points we lost against Chennaiyin but it is still early in the season. When you play every 4-5 days, it’s not just about the score but also about the mentality.

On the takeaways from that result…

I have to say that we are very happy with our performance. To win against the Champions, and our performance in that game was perfect. It was different from our first game, where we took our chances and scored three goals with four shots on target.

It helped that Mumbai missed their chances but our defense was generally very good and we are satisfied with how the game played out.

On the next opponents, Jamshedpur FC…

Owen Coyle’s teams are very tough to play. Both games last season ended in draws and this season they are stronger and can play a different style of football as well.

They also have a lot of players who played well from last season and I think they are one of the teams that will fight for the top-4.

On the threat of the star strikers at JFC…

I think Jamshedpur have very good players in every area of the pitch. Nerijus Valskis and Jordan Murray are two players who give them goals but they are a complete team with quality in every position.

Plans for the game…

Jamshedpur beat a strong team in FC Goa in the last game and we did the same against Mumbai City. We will have to stick to our style and they will have a plan as well. It will surely be a very equal game and maybe some small details are what will decide the game.

On the performance of Indian youngsters so far…

We are really happy with our foreign players who are very important to our squad. But with the overseas rule, you can see that there are better Indian players showing their level and personality not just in Hyderabad but at every club in the league. And I am sure it will the same in the upcoming games as well.

On the performance of Rohit Danu…

Like I already said, you need to work on the progress of these youngsters step by step. For me, Danu is a really good player with a great mentality. He has humility and the goal he scored against Mumbai does not make him think differently.

He is clever, wants to learn every day in training but he has to continue working hard to continue his progress.

Message for the fans…

I think the Hyderabad fans can always expect the best version of their team. At least, we will try! We can promise hard work and good football but not the results.

We will try to win and will stick to our style. We hope that the fans enjoy our style and our game but most importantly, enjoy the results.