Playing for Pride, Planning for future

CHENNAI: Every fall is an opportunity to grow stronger and try harder to propel you to new heights. Languishing at the bottom after a season that was so harrowing that it will not be easy to forget the despair that it endured, this is precisely what Chennaiyin FC aims for in the next season.

Pushed to the bottom half of the points table, the team has no shield or trophy to aim for the remainder of this season. However, instead of wallowing in anguish, an exercise in futility, the club is using it as an opportunity to work hard off the field.

Sources told DT Next that the club has not only scouted new players, it has also signed on a few who would be part of the team by the time the new season starts in July.

“In terms of preparations and bringing new players before the new season, I’m already way ahead with it,” Chennaiyin’s head coach Owen Coyle told DT Next in an exclusive interview.

The team faced challenges in recent seasons and this season, Owen is bearing the brunt of it all. It may not have been easy to endure it, but he doesn’t show it to the world.

“There has been too much negativity in past seasons, feeding off everyone. We can’t have that. We have to be positive. I know it’s not easy when you are used to success but suddenly start losing. It can be hard. But that’s when we stand up, regroup, and not blame people,” he added.

Owen’s stint in 2019 saw Chennaiyin FC fielding two Indian midfielders, a first at that time, making room for international forwards like Schembri, Rafael, and Valskis. His return to the club in 2023 brought some new faces, but inefficiency in the final third cost the club crucial points. “I don’t want to make excuses, but I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again. We need to be more clinical and give away less,” he said.

When asked about not bringing in new players during the winter transfer window, Owen sought to note two key aspects: the club budget and the importance of quality over quantity.

“Our owners invest money every year, and they aren’t getting back much financially. They put their heart and soul into the club, and it’s up to me to give them back on the field. I wish I could’ve done that this year, but we’ve been competitive. I need to add more quality,” he said candidly.

Throughout the conversation, Owen repeatedly commented on the team reaching and remaining in the space that he believes it deserves. “Chennaiyin shouldn’t be scraping to get into the final six, that’s not what this club is about. They deserve to be the best, and that’s what I’ve been working on for next season.

“It’s time I change a few things. If we keep going with the same momentum, it’d be madness,” he said.

By the time the club takes the field during the next Durand Cup, Owen and the team would have had enough time to regroup and address the shortcomings. Current players, both domestic and international, have expectations set clearly for them to prove their worth. “There are spots up for grabs,” Owen added.

Expressing gratitude to the fans, he thanked them for the support and the positive atmosphere they created week after week as the team went through highs and lows. Owen assured them that, as the club grows older, the picture would be much brighter. Even after going through a poor season, Owen instills optimism and urges everyone to believe in the club.

While the Marina Arena may no longer be an impregnable fortress, given how the recent seasons have panned out, Owen emphasises judging the team based on how it bounces back from adversity.

As fans would know, building, regrouping and challenging the best of the lot head-on is not new for the Scotsman, who famously managed Championship side Burnley during a journey in which it defeated the likes of Roy Hodgson’s Fulham, Felipe Scolari’s Chelsea, and Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal in the League Cup, and earned a promotion to the English Premier League after more than three decades.

It is a repeat of this history that the ardent fans are looking forward to.