NorthEast United FC’s new head coach Gerard Nus is taking things positively ahead of the 2020 season. Though the Guwahati-based Indian Super League (ISL) side has not been able to perform as per the expectations over the last several seasons, Nus is quite optimistic to start everything afresh.
The former assistant coach of Ghana’s national team said he is hoping for something good for NorthEast United FC this season.
“If I didn’t believe that there is a chance to do something amazing with NorthEast United FC, I wouldn’t be here. I want to be surrounded by positive people, and I hope we get that. I have already started working on getting the best of every moment, be it working on signing foreign players or checking out Indian players. I hope we can do something good this season,” Nus was quoted as saying by SportsKeeda in an interview.
Since 2014, the Guwahati-based ISL side has reached the playoffs only once in the 2018-19 season when Dutchman Eelco Schattorie was the head coach. Apart from that, most of the seasons have been a forgettable one.
Nus has already spoken to former NEUFC coach Avram Grant who happens to be his colleague during his stint in Ghana.
“He (Avram) said many good things about NorthEast United FC. He told me the people in India are really lovely. He explained to me the vision the owners have for the club. Avram also explained to me the issues that the club has been facing in the past couple of seasons, especially regarding the performance of the team. It was a bit disappointing to hear those but I take it as a challenge. We need to look at the positive side of things always in life. That is my mentality,” the 35-year-old manager added.
Commenting on the ISL, Nus said that more matches would help eventually. “In my viewpoint, if you want to develop players, you need to have such a structure in place that has more amount of competition and can provide maximum game time to the players. I hope I can talk to people who can provide help to change the scenario in India because the system that is in place right now is good, but it is not perfect, and I think I can help put in place a system that can be perfect,” reckoned Nus who has also worked with Rafa Benitez in Liverpool.
This season of the ISL will start from November 21 and all the matches will be played in Goa inside empty stadiums because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
