ISL 2017: "Nice to be remembered by the Kerala Blasters fans," says Jamshedpur FC manager Steve Coppell
Jamshedpur FC coach Steve Coppell returns to Kochi as his side prepares to take on the Kerala Blasters on Friday. Coppell will be facing his former team, whom he had managed last year in the third season of the Indian Super League. The Englishman spoke to the press ahead of the game and was glad to get a warm welcome at Kochi on his return, but stated that he expects nothing less than three points.
Coppell was the manager of Kerala Blasters in the 2016 edition of the ISL, where he led the team to the final, only to lose to ATK. In Season 4, the 62-year-old joined the newly formed Jamshedpur FC as their manager and now returns to the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium for his side's second match of the season.
He said he was happy to be back in Kochi for many reasons and expressed his delight at seeing some of his old players, fans and the stadium again. He added all these things brought back a lot of happy memories from last season.
Coppell said, 'I am glad to be back. I got a nice reception from the people of Kochi and it is nice to be remembered." He added that he would want to win three points any day, stating, “Looking to go for the win for sure. It's literally just a question of who do we play next in this case".
The former Reading manager added that he is glad to see improved training facilities at Kochi and thanked the FIFA U-17 World Cup for that.
Coppell is much loved by the people of Kochi for his work with the Kerala Blasters last season and will surely get a warm welcome tomorrow at the stadium. Both the teams, having drawn their first games of the season, will try to get three points from Thursday's match.
Having experienced the atmosphere at the JLN Stadium before, Coppell won't have much pressure playing in front of the vocal Kochi fans and will try to take advantage of his experience playing in front of the Blasters.