ISL 2022-23: Want to start getting trophies back into this football club – Bengaluru FC head coach Simon Grayson

Bengaluru FC’s new gaffer Simon Grayson has revealed that his aim is to start getting back trophies into the club. The Blues had won their first and last Hero ISL title back in the 2018-19 season when they defeated FC Goa by 1-0. Since then they haven’t been able to go all the way in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru FC finished in sixth place with eight wins in 20 matches with a tally of 29 points in the previous season and thus could not qualify for the semifinal stages and thus Grayson will be determined to turn the tables in the upcoming edition.

The Blues will now take part in the Durand Cup and they are placed in Group A along with FC Goa, Indian Air Force, Mohammedan SC, and Jamshedpur FC.

Simon Grayson said in the press conference on Sunday, “We want to win it [Durand Cup] as every other club does. We want to start getting trophies back into this football club again whether it’s in a pre-season tournament, which is steeped in fantastic history and tradition. It’s still part of our pre-season planning, so a lot of time will be spent on the training pitch to get ready for the start of the ISL season.

“The Durand Cup games will be a great experience for me to learn not only about our individual players but also to see the other teams. One or two clubs are sending their second team, but we will be going with our strongest squad.”

Meanwhile, Durand Cup is India’s oldest football competition as it was founded in 1888. The Bengaluru FC captain Sunil Chhetri was also present at the press conference and he spoke about the legacy of the tournament.

Chhetri said, “The Durand Cup is very special to me. It’s one of the oldest tournaments in the world, so that’s great in itself. I’ve been fortunate to win a lot of tournaments, almost all of them one can win in India. But the Durand Cup is missing. We as a club have also not won the trophy, so we’ll do our best.”

The veteran showered praise on the head coach, stating that Grayson is always calm as well as supportive and gives a lot of encouragement to youngsters.

“It [the interaction with the new head coach] has been very good and easy. He keeps things simple. The kind of technical and tactical knowledge he brings along of course helps.

“He’s been at the top as a player and a coach, but one good thing that particularly stands out for me is how calm, supportive, and encouraging he’s to all the players, especially the youngsters.”

Chhetri added: “When you have a new gaffer who knows exactly how he wants us to be on and off the pitch, it becomes easy for all the players to grab the message.”