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I League: Westwood hopes Punjab FC can challenge for title

When the whole the world has come to a standstill due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak last year, RoundGlass Sports made a bold move to acquire 100 per cent stake in the erstwhile Minerva FC.

Ashley Westwood

Bengaluru, December 8: Ahead of the new I League season, which is set to commence on the Boxing Day, RoundGlass Punjab FC coach Ashley Westwood has exuded confidence.

When the whole the world came to a standstill due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak last year, RoundGlass Sports made a bold move to acquire 100 per cent stake in the erstwhile Minerva FC Punjab.

Thirteen teams feature in the first phase of the I League which runs till February 24.

And as the Mohali-based cub gets ready for I League opener against Rajasthan United, Westwood is brimming with confidence.

"The club has been thought about and built for the right reasons. Our founder Sunny (Gurpreet) Singh has a keen interest in sports and wants to create opportunities for the children and youth of Punjab, where he hails from, to play sports. He wants to enable the wholistic well-being of people through not just sports but also a focus on nutrition, learning, encouraging a healthy lifestyle, and other aspects," Westwood said in a virtual interaction with the media.

"We want to create a healthy, honest, and hard-working team and aim to inspire young people with our performances and style of play, in line with Sunny's vision, which includes providing a genuine platform that the children and youth of Punjab look up to, are inspired by, and that helps nurture their dreams of becoming sportspersons," added, Westwood, who is a two-time I League winner with Bengaluru FC, who now ply their trade in Indian Super League (ISL).

RoundGlass Punjab FC's pre-season training began in October and the team has been in Kolkata since, with the players and support staff being housed in a bio-bubble secure environment.

"Pre-season has been good. It's a new team and the more time we spend with each other, the better it is. Being in this environment, which means living and working together day in and day out, helps bring the team together and allows us to find out more about one another and understand the character of each member of the team, which is part of our decision-making process. Another benefit of being together is that we can focus on football, as there are no distractions, and we can control the environment. We are trying to keep things challenging for the players and, at the same time, ensure athat it is not monotonous," added Westwood, who also had a brief stint as the interim coach of ATK.

The Englishman, who is a seasoned campaigner with over 25 years of experience as a player and coach, joined RoundGlass Punjab FC as the head coach in July.

The club, after an impressive I League debut under new ownership last season, made a strong statement of intent in the summer transfer window as well.

"The players we have signed give us balance and have been brought onboard for not only their abilities but also their professionalism and experience. I know the players I've worked with earlier will do things the right way and be role models for not only the younger players at the club, but also those at our Academy and our fans. We wanted a balance of youth and experience in the squad so we can challenge for the I League," Westwood said.

The Punjab outfit begin their campaign against Rajasthan United FC at 7.30pm at the Kalyani Stadium in West Bengal on December 26.

Story first published: Wednesday, December 8, 2021, 18:33 [IST]
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