ISL 2019-20 | Dejected John Gregory hints about his resignation as Chennaiyin’s poor show continues.
Dejected Chennaiyin FC head coach John Gregory has admitted that he is under heavy pressure and hinted about his possible resignation as Chennaiyin continued their winless run with a loss to champions Bengaluru FC for 3-0. Moreover, the coach spoke about the changes he made from the last match.
While wins haven't been in the picture for the Marina Machans, the more worrying concern has been the whopping 540 minutes since the side has scored in ISL. Chennaiyin's poor show continued as they got thrashed by champions Bengaluru FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday. The two-time champions were helpless and could not create many chances or stop the Bengaluru goals for that matter.
Erik Partaalu and Sunil Chhetri scored for the Blues in the first half, while substitute Semboi Haokip found the net in the late minutes to seal the game for Bengaluru and get the defending champions to winning ways. And Chennaiyin's head coach John Gregory, who could only finish bottom of the table after winning the title in his very first season, has helplessly admitted the heavy pressure he is under and even hinted about stepping down from the position.
“I think it’s about time I sat down with the owner and had a conversation. She’s (Vita Dani) been very supportive since September 2017, but it’s probably time I sat down with her and had a deeper conversation than normal. We can’t continue like this.” said John Gregory at the post-match press conference, ISL website reported.
“We consider ourselves to be a very, very good club. We’re all hurting, the whole club’s hurting at the moment. And none more so than myself. I’ve carried this club on my shoulders and it’s not easy. I’ve never worked so hard in my life than I have done in the last two and a half years. It’s a heavy load and it might be time for somebody else to take over,” Gregory added.
“So, I should have a long chat with Mrs. (Vita) Dani in the next 24 hours because in my opinion, the club always comes first. And we have to do what’s best for the club. Quite frankly, right now, this is the worst I’ve felt in two and a half years. So, I don’t particularly enjoy these moments. So, we shall see. We’ve now got a break for a couple of weeks. It will give everybody time to reflect and maybe make some improvements for the remainder of the season. Because there’s another 14 games to play. There’s still a lot to play for. But in the current situation we don’t look as if we’re likely to pick up many points in the next few games,” the English coach further said.
Chennaiyin FC are winless this season and are at the bottom of the table with one point after four matches. However, the Englishman spoke about the importance of Chennaiyin in his life. “The club is really important and has been an important part of my life for the last couple of years. And it hurts me to see the situation my team is in, my club is in. I’m an adopted Chennai boy. I have been for the last couple of years. And I’m hurting like hell more than you would ever believe. And I take it all very personally. So, I don’t like to see my team in this situation at the moment. We might need to do something about it, to change things. So, we shall see.” Gregory further added.
The former Aston Villa manager also discussed the changes in the squad from the last match. “I can only play five foreigners. And we’ve started Dragos (Firtulescu) in three previous games and I just needed to change my two things. Young Rahim (Ali) has been outstanding on the training ground since the start of the season. He deserved to have his chance. With (Lallianzuala) Chhangte, a bit like (Anirudh) Thapa, they are finding things a little bit difficult. He had three games in seven days recently. And both him and Thapa are quite exhausted. Sometimes they need to have a break and I think this was an ideal opportunity to just maybe keep him on the bench for an hour.” Gregory concluded.
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