ISL 2020-21 | We were not brave enough in the previous game, admits Stuart Baxter

Odisha FC started its voyage in the Indian Super League last season, finished at the sixth position in the points table. With a revamped side and experienced coach Stuart Baxter in their ranks, they were looking for a fresh start in the new season. But, they faltered in the opening game against Hyderabad FC, losing by a solitary goal in the end. The head coach feels that they were not brave enough with the ball in the previous game, but have changed their shape ahead of the next game.

“If you look that possession in general, then it was long way what where we need to be. Tactically, the balance was wrong. We ended up being very separated, we couldn’t get support up to the front players. The midfielders were deep and then mentally, whether it was the first game we played, or the young players were nervous, or the balance of the team preventing it, we weren’t very brave with the ball and taking responsibility. We’ve changed the shape a little bit in the training, encouraged the players to relax a little bit more on the ball. It’s looked better,” said Stuart Baxter, during the pre-match press conference.

They will face Jamshedpur FC in the upcoming match on Sunday, a team that has also lost their first game. With Nerijus Vlaskis in their ranks, Jamshedpur FC would be a hard nut to crack, even though when asked about it, Stuart is convinced that his players are not going to give the striker too much space to play his natural game. 

"No, not more than we will take heed of the fact that he is a finisher and obviously when you have a player like him, they seek him, as we saw. That was a definite movement they made and a definite ball into the space. We will try to cut the service and be compact around him and the defenders will be well warned and won’t give him too much room," added the manager.