Hyderabad: The lacklustre show of Odisha FC in ISL 7 have been disappointing so far, placing them at the bottom of the table only above SC East Bengal who are placed last in the standings.
Although, the team's silver lining could be Arshdeep Singh's form whose acrobatic skills have saved the team on multiple occasions. And Singh is positive about team's fortunes going into the games ahead saying they "need to think positive to get positive results".
The goalkeeper opened up in a chat with ETV Bharat as he discussed his own performance and training under Stuart Baxter.
Excerpts:
Q. Your personal performance has been great so far especially your save against Mendoza of Goa. What were you thinking? Take us through your preparation and which part of your game do you think helps you becoming the player you are.
A. First of all thank you very much for your kind words. About the saves, I would say as a goalkeeper that is what we train so hard for everyday on the training grounds to make those in the matches and that is our job. For me, the main thing is to keep my head down and keep working hard everyday, rest is upto God and we’re blessed to have coaches like Rogerio Ramos and Gerry Peyton in the goalkeeping department as they’re one of the most experienced coaches in the league.
Q. How do you think is the team doing under Stuart Baxter and Steven Taylor?
A. Stuart Baxter without a doubt is one of the greatest coach in the league. His tactics and ideas are very effective and the most important thing is he never gives up. He is trying his best to keep the team in shape and in the best conditions. We got a very short preseason with the coach due to the pandemic (just 11 session). But now the team is shaping up very well and believe we’ll do good in future.
Steven Taylor is a born leader. His communication skills on and off the field is amazing. He keeps on motivating each and everyone in the team especially the young ones and his experience is helping the team to be more disciplined.
Q. How is the team's preparation going?
A. Team preparation is going well as each and every player is giving their 100% on the training field everyday and we are all motivated and hungry for our first win this season.
Q. Odisha is almost at the bottom of the table now. Where do you think is the team lacking?
A. I won’t say we are lacking in any department. It’s just that we need to be more disciplined and work on our mistakes and get better every single day.
We are improving as a team and we need to think positive to get positive results and that’s what everyone here is doing. Hopefully, we will give our fans what they deserve and they deserve to be happy.
By Ayushmaan Pandey
