By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: After being overwhelmed with the positive response the team has received from local football fans, Wellington Phoenix Football Club (WPFC) has expressed their desire in contributing towards nurturing young football talent from the North East.
“It would be a wonderful thing if the club, in a small way, can contribute towards nurturing the young football talent of this region,” coach Ricki Herbert said while addressing a pre-match press conference ahead of their friendly match against Shillong Premier League champions Royal Wahingdoh at JN Stadium on Wednesday.
After playing a few matches in the region, Herbert said that the team would like to continue this relationship.
“We would love to have a long-term relationship. We would definitely come up with some concrete plan of taking this relationship forward,” the WPFC coach said.
Commenting on the young football talent of the North East, he said that he is impressed with the talents that the region possesses from what he had seen.
“I still feel that the players need to sharpen their skills if they are to make it big at the professional level. But I do not have any doubt about the natural talent they possess,” Herbert said.
He did feel, however, that the football infrastructure in the region needs improvement if players are to improve.
“You need to have good grounds and infrastructure in place to be able to nurture the young talent in a better manner,” he said.
Stating that artificial turf is not the best option for training young footballers, the WPFC coach said, “Young players should be encouraged to play on grass pitches.”
He described his team’s experience during the tour as a very good one, adding, “It has been a really good exposure for the team ahead of the hectic season in the Australia A League.”
When asked if his boys have been able to acclimatise to the weather conditions in this part of the country, Herbert said that the weather has been “perfect” in Shillong.
Looking ahead to Wednesday’s match against RWFC, the touring team’s coach said he expected a competitive match.
“We are planning to field in few of the young players who are yet to be signed with the club in tomorrow’s match. It should be a good experience for them as well,” the Wellington coach said.
Meanwhile, WPFC captain Andrew Durante urged the local fans to cheer for the best team in Wednesday’s encounter.
“We expect them to scream when we score even as we realise that the fans would scream louder for their team,” Durante said.
Meanwhile, RWFC coach Carlton Chapman said that the encounter would be a good learning experience for his side ahead of the Federation Cup and the Royals want to grasp the opportunity of playing against a team like WPFC.
While stating that the morale of the team is high, especially after winning its third SPL title, Chapman said Wahingdoh would be relaxed.
“Our aim is to play our natural game,” the Royal’s coach said while announcing that he would not be able to field a full-strength side as some of his players, including skipper Seityasen Singh, are missing due to injury.
Stating that the home crowd has always been supportive of the team, Chapman said that he expects the crowd to be cheering for his players irrespective of the outcome of the match.