ISL 2017: Shearer and van Nistelrooy went through barren spells as well, says Chennaiyin FC coach in defence of Jeje Lalpekhlua
After losing their opening game to Goa, Chennaiyin FC have gone on a three-match winning streak, scoring seven goals in the process. They next face Mumbai, away from home and Chennai's coach, John Gregory, is intent on continuing this good run.
"We want to keep this going, we had a poor 45 minutes in our first game against Goa. Since then, we've managed to put together a couple of good results and we desperately want to keep it going," he said.
Chennai's star man, Jeje Lalpekhlua started the season on a poor note, failing to score in his first three games. Questions began to surface about his form however he put all doubts to rest, scoring a brace in their previous win against ATK. Gregory believes there was never any pressure on Jeje.
"When a large part of your job is to score goals, the fact that he hadn't scored going into the fourth match was very unusual for him. Fortunately for us, other people were scoring, which took a lot of pressure off Jeje," he explained.
The English coach compared Jeje's initial struggles to some legendary strikers. John suggested that even some of the best forwards in the world experience a lean patch from time to time. But, he revealed that the lack of goals never played on his star striker's mind.
"Raphael Augusto's performance helped Jeje to relax. We spoke to him and asked him to carry on working. Players like Alan Shearer and Ruud van Nistelrooy went through barren spells as well, but they kept believing in themselves. I was delighted when Jeje scored two goals," he stated.
Chennai have largely been dependent on Brazilian playmaker, Augusto this season. However, they suffered a scare when he missed the game against ATK due to injury. However, the coach revealed that Augusto is now completely fit and will take part in tomorrow's game against Mumbai.
"He is available for tomorrow, we didn't take any risks with him. As always, you look at the wider picture. We have a long season and eighteen matches, if you overload at the start, you could lose them for longer periods. We felt he should be rested last match," signed off.