"Our aim is to reach playoffs this season" - Ohad Efrat outlines NorthEast United's targets ahead of the new season
Ohad Efrat is one of Europe's most experienced performance analysts, having worked with Crystal Palace and Hapoel Raanana. He is currently working as the technical director at Northeast United FC.
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A few days ago, Sportskeeda had an exclusive chat with Ohad Efrat.
Northeast United FC had a nightmare outlast season
Northeast United FC had a very poor 2021-22 ISL season. They managed to secure only 14 points from 20 matches with three wins and five draws. The team was injury-ridden and missed several crucial players last season, leading to such a horrible performance.
Head coach Khalid Jamil resigned at the end of the season, citing personal problems. Efrat was the technical director in the 2020-21 season and he came back in the midst of the 2021-22 season to help improve the performance of the team.
When asked about this, he said that the team wasn't good enough and that's the reason behind its poor performance last season..
"Last season was very difficult for us for many reasons, I rejoined the club in January so I can’t really tell what happened before. At the end of the day, we weren’t good enough and we need to learn from it and get back on track for the coming season."
Gutted. It ends in a defeat for us at the Fatorda Stadium against NorthEast United FC.
Second-half goals from VP Suhair and Patrick Flottmann ensures victory for the Highlanders.
#NEUSCEB #HeroISL https://t.co/2J1FZ9X0fx
Last season, Northeast United had to play V.P. Suhair due to Deshorn Brown's injury. It wasn't the best solution for them upfront. They scored only 25 goals in 20 matches.
Efrat didn't blame anyone for that and regarded it as a collective failure.
"There is no point to put the blame on one or two specific players. In the 20/21 season, we achieved great things together and managed to have the best season in the club's history. One of the key values that led us to these achievements was "Togetherness."
He further added:
"In the same way we won together, we need to know how to lose together and how to come back stronger for the next season as individuals and as a collective."
Northeast United FC planning something different this season
Northeast United FC have already started assembling their squad this season. They are trying to retain the main nucleus from last year's squad. Efrat claimed that this season, NUFC will focus more on local talent and will try to create a strong "Northeastern identity".
He also gave assurances of better performances this season.
"We are looking to build a strong northeastern identity that reflects our region's culture. We want to build a winning team which fights for their lives every game and make our fans proud."
Northeast United FC aiming for playoffs this season
Northeast United FC reached the playoffs in the 2020-21 season under the leadership of Khalid Jamil. Efrat played a very important part in the success. He is looking to repeat that success with the team this season. He assured NUFC fans of a very competitive squad this season.
We are going to be much more competitive this season for sure. Our aim is to reach the playoffs, and we believe in our abilities to build a young talented team that grows together every single season, in order to create and maintain success."
He went on to add:
"We have been suffering in the past few seasons with a lot of ups and down so one of our goals, apart from creating a winning team for the next season, is to build strong fundamentals for many seasons to come."
Northeast is the football talent hub of the country - Ohad Efrat
For a long time, the Northeast has produced some of the finest talents in Indian football. The likes of Mama, Baichung Bhutia, Sunil Chettri, Udanta Singh, Jerry and many other footballers have risen to prominence coming from the northeastern part of the country.
Ohad Efrat asserted that the northeast is the number one football region in the country. The NUFC management will try to do as much as possible to bring these talents to the limelight, according to him.
"The northeast region is the number one football region in the country. We must be sure that all the amazing talent will come to play for us and represent the power of the region in the best way possible. We have been working on it and I’m sure that in the close future we will manage to do it."