"Nothing is better" - Chennaiyin FC coach Thomas Brdaric praises team after first home win of ISL 2022-23

Chennaiyin FC boss Thomas Brdaric has stated that the experience of celebrating a win with the home fans is unmatchable. Brdaric's comments came after his side beat Jamshedpur FC 3-1 at the 'Marina Arena' on Saturday (November 19) to record their first home win of ISL 2022-23.

The Marina Machans dominated proceedings early on and took the lead through Petar Sliskovic in the 27th minute. However, they were pegged back by a moment of quality from Ishan Pandita, who equalized in the 76th minute.

Brdaric responded by bringing on Nasser ElKhayati and Vincy Barretto, and the duo combined seconds after coming on, with Barretto giving Chennaiyin the lead. ElKhayati got into the act as well a few moments later, scoring a splendid solo goal to seal the contest.

As has become common after most games, Brdaric gathered his troops and gave them a rousing speech before celebrating with the fans. The German tactician was asked about his message to the players after the match by Sportskeeda and he responded:

"This is the approach we want - to celebrate with the fans after the match with three points because nothing is better. Nothing. I told the players that from the first day... No, the first second, I saw a team that was settled, organized and with a good plan."

Brdaric added that the team had worked towards the moment, having drawn once and lost twice in their first three ISL 2022-23 home games:

"That's why we are working everyday - for this moment. I'm very happy for the club, the owners, for the fans and especially for the team. We worked this week to be more organized and to reduce some foolish things. Totally, we can be very happy."

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Players should learn from their mistakes: Chennaiyin FC coach Thomas Brdaric

Much of the pre-match build-up to Chennaiyin FC's clash against Jamshedpur FC involved their previous game. The Marina Machans fell to a 6-2 defeat at home to Mumbai City FC after leading 2-0 inside the opening 35 minutes.

Thomas Brdaric took ownership for the team's display. However, he believes such setbacks are inevitable and emphasized the team's need to learn from its mistakes:

"Last week's mistakes hurt us so much. I lost the game last week, not the team. I had some ideas and I couldn't implement that.

"You can't play without mistakes - all big teams make mistakes. But they should learn from that. Last week, we made tremendous mistakes and the opponent punished us in a bad moment every time. Today was a much better organization."

The win over Jamshedpur was particularly impressive as Chennaiyin were without quite a few players. Anirudh Thapa, Jiteshwor Singh, Narayan Das and Rahim Ali all missed out due to injuries. However, the likes of Jockson Dhas, Sajal Bag and Sourav Das, all handed their first start of the season, put in solid displays.

Speaking about the need to maintain a positive atmosphere in the camp, Brdaric said:

"Vafa is very important and we can't replace some players. This doesn't mean Thapa, Jiteshwor, Rahim aren't important; they are. But they must be honest with themselves and understand that if they have issues, they have to tell the truth.

"We have to replace some players with fully healthy players. Players like Thapa, Jiteshwor, Ali and Narayan will bounce back in the future and help us in a good way. I hope they come back soon."

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"We all won together" - Thomas Brdaric lauds Chennaiyin's youngsters for stepping up

He added that the performances of young guns like Dhas and Bag will certainly help Chennaiyin in their bid to build a long-term project:

"The road is decisive and to give the players who are behind [in the pecking order] support and time is important. This is the way to approach how we are working to build a new team, not just short-term but also a long-term relation.

"It's very important to have a healthy atmosphere in the team and you need everybody. This win today, we all won together."

While several fringe players got their chance to impress, ElKhayati's absence from Chennaiyin's starting line-up was met with some backlash. Brdaric revealed that it was a tough decision but praised the Dutchman, who now has two goals and an assist in two games, for his impact, saying:

"It was tough to tell Nasser that he won't start, but we discussed that before the match. I said 'You will play in the second half' and I hoped the plan would succeed. It wasn't in the plan to get the goal [so quickly].

"I try to tell the players on the bench that they're really, really important. We need game-changers. If something happens, they must be mentally and physically prepared to make the effort. I'm happy with my changes and the players and it's an unbelievable feeling."

Next up, Chennaiyin will visit Odisha FC on November 24 hoping to win two games in a row for the first time this season.