Odisha FC coach Stuart Baxter aspires to be the 'coach the players need' in the ISL

A couple of days ago, Odisha FC roped in Stuart Baxter as their head coach to fill the void left by Josep Gombau, who had spearheaded the Juggernauts in their debut ISL season.

The Scot is slated to take over the reins for the 2019-20 ISL season as Odisha FC look to make the play-offs of the competition for the first time in their history.

Stuart Baxter comes in with immense experience, having managed across eight different countries, with his most recent stint including a dream run for South Africa at the most recent African Cup of Nations.

Subsequently, Odisha FC fans have been waiting with bated breath for the Scot to arrive and sprinkle his bit of British steel and toughness on a side that was garnished with Spanish panache for much of the 2019-20 ISL campaign.

Josep Gombau had made Odisha FC an entertaining side

Baxter, though, rather than envisioning an overhaul, stressed that he intended to adapt to the needs of the Juggernauts and become a manager that would help get the best out of his troops.

In fact, the Scot also mentioned that his philosophy would revolve around his players, with him wanting to be the ‘coach that this squad of players need’.

“I need to be the coach that the squad needs and not the coach that I always wanted to be, no matter what the culture, no matter what the personality, no matter what the style, I impose myself; I don’t think that’s right. I need to be the coach that this squad of players need,” Baxter quipped.

Additionally, the newly-appointed coach opined on how the onus was on the manager to identify the culture prevailing at the club, in the country and of course, among the players to optimise the potential at one’s disposal.

Throughout the 2019-20 ISL term, Odisha FC had catapulted themselves as one of the more free-flowing outfits in the competition. Josep Gombau had moulded the side to his liking and had gotten them playing attractive football, irrespective of the circumstances.

When quizzed if Baxter intended to completely throw that modus operandi out of the window and implement his own style, he stated that that was the last thing he wanted to do.

“I think there’s some good work done and I will retain that good work and hopefully, I will build upon it and hopefully, I will find a way of playing which we all will enjoy and it will give us some result. I don’t have expectations,” the Odisha FC head coach noted.

Interestingly, Stuart Baxter also opened up on an intriguing conversation he had with former South African cricket team skipper Francois Du Plessis, wherein the latter talked about the mindset of Indian cricketers and what usually perturbed them.

In the process, the Scot was accorded a fair idea of the culture of sportspeople he was walking into while also commenting on how he wanted to work on those facets in the ISL.

“The people I have spoken to say that the Indian players are ambitious. I had an interesting conversation with Faf du Plessis (the South African cricketer). He said that the Indian cricketers (sportsman) are fantastic when on the front foot when they go on the back foot, they have too much to do. If they don’t do that, they will be totally unplayable. So, my job, I believe, is to make sure that my Odisha players feel like mentally on the front foot in any case and I think all of those things will go together into a style,” Baxter said.

Odisha FC have one of the most talented sides in the ISL

Odisha FC have unearthed a lot of young talents

Unlike many ISL sides, Odisha FC have also prided themselves on their ability to develop youngsters and help them gain much-needed experience in the hustle and bustle of the ISL.

To put things into perspective, in 2019-20, the Juggernauts had built a core of young Indian players who played pivotal parts throughout their ISL campaign.

Footballers of the ilk of Arshdeep Singh, Daniel Lalhlimpuia, Gaurav Bora, Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Nanda Kumar, Shubham Sarangi and Vinit Rai featured prominently as Odisha finished 6th in the ISL.

And, fortunately for this promising bunch of Indian youngsters, Stuart Baxter seems inclined to keep giving them opportunities and indeed, prioritize their development.

“I can say that there will be an emphasis on youth. It’s my job to make sure the culture of the club is based on development, coaching, team spirit, understanding your role and the responsibilities to the club and to the state. So, I think, no matter how we spin it, the youth are going to play a very important role in this and for us, it’s vital that we make sure that we give those young players the best possible chance of being able to develop and answer the core that we are making,” Stuart Baxter concluded.

Can Stuart Baxter lead Odisha FC to the play-offs?

Over the past few months, sports in India has been brought to a grinding halt due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Consequently, fans have been left glued to their laptop screens hoping to relive some of their favourite sporting moments.

Along similar lines, the Odisha FC faithful would also have been reminiscing some of their premier performances in the 2019-20 ISL season, wherein they waltzed past their opponents. Unfortunately for them though, they couldn’t sustain that intensity, meaning that an ISL play-off place eluded them.

Yet, with an ambitious Scot itching to carve a niche for himself in the ISL, Odisha FC might be hoping for dazzling displays to become the norm.

After all, the last time a Britisher (Owen Coyle at Chennaiyin FC) was brought on board by an ISL club, they went on to make the ISL finals in 2019-20.

And, as things stand, Odisha FC wouldn’t particularly mind that outcome, would they?