The 59-year-old highlighted his zeal to develop the tastes of Lallianzuala Chhangte, Rahim Ali and Deepak Tangri in Chennaiyin…
Chennai FC coach Csaba Laszlo backs the under-fire striker Jakub Sylvestr ahead of Chennaiyin’s Indian Super League (ISL) meeting against ATK Mohun Bagan on Tuesday.
The Slovakian striker has only one goal under his belt in seven appearances but much to the manager’s relief there are others who have stepped up at the right time to get the job done. Lallianzuala Chhangte has become the team’s sixth different goalscorer against East Bengal and the manager is happy that his team is not dependent on any goalscorer.
“Jakub Sylvestr is very different. You could say he misses chances but he is always involved in the goals. He created chances and gave two assists. Isma (Esmael Goncalves) also missed a very good chance or two. don’t talk about new signings because I really hope Isma comes back (from an injury) stronger physically and mentally.
“Normally every great team doesn’t have just one goalscorer – you also have players helping from the right, from the left and even from the center. It’s also our strategy and on the other side we missed a lot of chances. It’s incredible. the number of chances we create but I’m happy for Indian goal scorers like Ali, Chhangte and [Anirudh] Thapa.
“We are working in different directions. We don’t think about the position of the players. Even from set pieces we had some good opportunities for Eli (Sabia) and [Enes] Sepovic. I hope they will score in the next matches. In general, it’s important to have different scorers, ”explained the Hungarian coach.
Chennaiyin has created opportunities, but their conversion rate has been dismal. They attempted 103 shots but only seven of them nestled in the net. Chhangte has secured good goal positions but fails to convert and Laszlo is working with the forward to improve his finish.
“Sometimes it depends on the player’s ability to make decisions. It is not easy to create chances, especially at the highest level. You have to take risks in many cases and every team wants to score.
“At the beginning I saw that in every game Chhangte comes in scoring position, so I started working with him individually. I told him basic things like, ‘You have to hold your head up, you don’t need to focus. After scoring in the last game, Chhangte came up to me and said “thank you”. I thought it was the biggest compliment for me from my time in India. Even with Ali or Thapa, these players not only need confidence but know how to make decisions. “
The Chennaiyin tactician wants to use more young players like Rahim Ali and Deepak Tangri in the first team as he is impressed with their quality on the pitch.
“Rahim is a player I think, he doesn’t know how talented he is. He needs a lot of advice. I’ve worked with a lot of talented players but my biggest role is to try to lift him up and explore his talent.
“He (Tangri) can be a very important piece of the puzzle. I was surprised by him and Ali in training and slowly they will be more and more introduced to the team. They are very close to being on the team all the time. “
Laszlo agreed that Roy Krishna could change the complexion of a match on his own and Chenaiyin will have to be on his guard to contain the attacker.
“I had a similar question [asked] before the game against Goa (on the kind of threat Igor Angulo would pose). I try to prepare the team against the opponent and not one or two players, but it is true that you have to keep your eyes open on the most dangerous players. He (Krishna) is one of them but usually ATK [Mohun Bagan] They are a very compact team allowing the other team to dominate the game because they have good offensive players who know how to score goals.
“It’s a question of whether we play a little deeper or a little more. In general, we have to find the right mix, but for me it is also important that my team play very close to each other. This is what we are trying to do. to do all the time. Each game you make mistakes or one or two players miss a chance but the other [player] must be ready to help each other because together you can win a game.
“Even we have individuals like Rafa (Rafael Crivellaro), Chhangte, Thapa, I also hope forwards like Jakub (Sylvestr) or Ali who are able to change the game in a positive way for us. On the other side, they have gaps. that we have to close but with Deepak and Memo we have players capable of that, ”he explained.
Chennaiyin will play two games in four days and the 56-year-old coach is worried about the recovery of his players.
“The biggest problem for me is the weather. After the game against East Bengal (Sunday), we don’t even have a full day of training. We had a day of recovery, maybe a little practice for tactics and the next day you have to play. So you don’t even have two or three days. So for this reason ATK [Mohun Bagan] for example to have an advantage because this team has remained together (core of players retained) with the same coach and the same ideology, ”he observed.
