Interview with Sandesh Jhingan: "Playing abroad is definitely on my radar next season"
At the age of 22, Sandesh Jhingan has firmly established himself as one of India’s most talented footballers. A stand-out 2014 ISL campaign for the Kerala Blasters, along with inspiring performances for India, has seen Jhingan cement his position as a senior national team member. The Chandigarh-born full back’s prolific performance against Iran, even drew praises from former Real Madrid Coach, Carlos Quieroz.
That being said, 2015 hasn't been as fruitful for him. Having notched up 11 points from 10 games, Kerala currently lie second from bottom in the ISL table. The national team has also secured only one victory of their qualifying group. However, Jhingan remains positive about the remainder of the 2015 calendar.
After pocketing a Kerala Blasters extension of Rs 1.55 crore, Jhingan also joined an elite club of Indian footballers. The price tag justifying, his performances from the previous campaign.
Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, Jhingan talks about the road ahead for the Blasters, national team exploits and where his future lies next season.
Q. Last years, Kerala only conceded 11 goals, but this campaign they have let in 14 already. Any defensive frailties you have noticed compared to last season?
I think this season itself a lot of good attacking signings have been made by the clubs. But if we compare our defensive line-up, we are as good, if not better than last season. Right now, we are in that particular building phase, it’s only a time before our good patch begins. We have conceded two goals, which I think we shouldn’t have, but apart from that, most of the other goals were brilliant attacking displays. There is always room for improvement, I am personally very critical, I don’t like to think something is perfect. If I have a good game, it doesn’t mean it can’t get better. If you see this season, all teams have score more, also the fact that last year was brilliant for us.
Q. The last two months have been very hectic for you, both domestic and international committments at the same time. Do you think fatigue has become an issue?
Definitely, continuous action does affect footballers. However, that’s how it is and we can’t change that. As an Indian, the nation always comes first for me, so regardless of when it is, it’s an honour to play for the tri-colour. I’m lucky that I have a great Kerala Blasters medical staff, who look after me really well, so I have no reason to complain.
Q. What are your thoughts on the National team‘s exploits since Stephen Constantine has taken over?
Look, let’s face it we lost five in a row. But, what we should see is that we are young team, in the process of change. We shouldn’t be too critical of it so far. There were positives I think. Especially in the Turkmenistan and Iran match, we looked very structured. These are things which are important to be inculcated. My performance against Iran was highlighted a lot, but I think it could have been anyone else on that day. We are playing for our country and that’s what matters.
Q. What was the dressing room like after Peter Taylor’s Kerala Blasters depature?
We were obviously very disappointed, we had become like a small family working towards winning the title. But that’s football for you know, Coaches go, players go, that’s very important for the sport to keep doing. But we have to look at the positives, we learned a lot of things under Peter Taylor. Me especially, since Peter used to run the wings, I learned a lot from him about that aspect. Now, Trevor has his own set of tactics, which he is implementing, you will soon see the results.
Q. After the completion of last year’s ISL, you wanted to ply your trade abroad, is that goal still a part of your plan?
Right now, I’m completely attached to Kerala Blasters and that’s the only thing on my mind. But, yes, definitely I want to go an play abroad. My agent looks into all that stuff, and I’m sure he is working towards our plans. But, my primary goal is to reach the ISL play-offs right now.
Q. There a rumours of administrative problems within the Kerala hierarchy this season, do you think it has hampered the team’s performances?
As players we hardly care about any administrative problems. We go out and play football, and our job is to get results, regardless of the club situation However, everyone is friendly within the club, so I don’t think there are any problems, everyone gets along very well.
Q.Since JCT shut their doors, there has been no channel for Punjab to streamline players to the I-league. Do you think Chandigarh was a difficult city to pursue football?
If you’re focused, and you want to do something really badly then you can’t blame the infrastructure or facilities around you. You have to go out and do it, at any cost. My family supported me a lot as they knew I always wanted to be a professional footballer. So, I focused on what I wanted to do. It wasn’t easy, but everything fell into place, because that’s what I wanted to do.
Q. Have you had the chance to interact with Sachin Tendulkar recently?
Yes, I met him last time during the kit launch, he was as usual motivating me to do better. I mean being able to talk to someone like him is so inspiring in itself. Even when he comes to watch a games, it motivates us to play better. We were really happy, he came down for the NEUFC game.
Q. Any specific goals from the rest of the 2015 calendar year?
Well right now it’s ISL, and then the national team duties. We also have SAFF Cup later, so that’s also something I am looking into.
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