'I didn't have any say in the Indian recruitment', Eelco Schattorie opens up after Kerala Blasters sacking

On the 15th of February, 2020, Kerala Blasters hosted Bengaluru FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. Prior to that encounter, the former had failed to notch up a single victory against the Blues, meaning that the latter certainly represented their bogey team.

However, on that evening, the Kochi-based outfit pulled out all the stops to upstage the 2018-19 ISL champions and script an impressive 2-1 triumph. A month ago, the Blasters, against similar odds, had also succeeded in outwitting ATK at the Salt Lake Stadium.

Unfortunately, though, such results represented an anomaly throughout the campaign, wherein they accumulated only 19 points from 18 matches, which included only four victories.

Consequently, the club were pressed into action post the culmination of a disappointing campaign and the Blasters dispensed with Eelco Schattorie’s services on the 22nd of April 2020.

When quizzed on what his thoughts were about the ‘parting of ways’, the Dutchman replied,

“It is a big disappointment because I thought I would be able to deliver results in the next season. Even this season, we produced a few good results but that becomes difficult when you don’t have the tools. I believe I have the quality and I can guarantee that apart from two or three players, the others were happy with me and the work we did. I am very disappointed because I thought I was the right person to bring the club back to where it wants to be," Schattorie commented.

For much of the season, Schattorie was left ruing the lack of resources at his disposal, meaning that he had to field several ISL greenhorns. Apart from that, he also outlined a few other aspects that he was looking forward to for the upcoming season, although that chance has now been snatched away from him.

“I believe that for a club to have success in the long run, the manager and the club needs to have a cooperation in the planning and the scouting of the team. Last season, I didn’t have any say in the Indian recruitment. It is not a criticism but we didn’t have the strongest Indian players. I may be the perfect guy to work with those youngsters but I also got criticized for it, which is not always easy. I was hoping to shape the team according to my liking next season. But I won’t get my chance now," he added.

In fact, the Kerala Blasters have never been too patient with their managers and have shown a proclivity to hire and fire at the drop of a hat. To put things into perspective, the club has seen 8 different managers (including Trevor Morgan’s one-game reign) installed at the helm, only for them to perish when push came to shove.

So far, Steve Coppell remains the longest serving manager, having been in charge for nearly 13 months, between June 2016 and July 2017. Thus, it didn’t seem much of a surprise that Eelco Schattorie was shown the door and that is something the Dutchman also seemed aware of.

“The club wants to take a new direction, which is not the first time they’re doing so. I wish them luck and I hope they have the foresight and the knowledge to help the club," Schattorie told Sportskeeda.

Kerala Blasters endured a tough campaign in 2019-20

Since the inception of the ISL, Kerala Blasters have often changed tack, whether it be the fate of their managers or their players. Subsequently, they haven’t been able to establish any sort of consistency nor have they been able to zero in on a core that pulls them out of inevitable ruts. Speaking about consistency, Eelco Schattorie commented,

“Even after the first victory against ATK, I knew we were going to have a tough time. We can only get long term success by having stability. I knew that would be a problem because of a bad pre-season and the injuries. In the end, it is about consistency and anyone who argues against that, has probably never played professional football before," he added.

'I know exactly what I would change'

When quizzed further about the facets that consigned the Blasters to a seventh-placed finish in the ISL, the Dutchman opened up that there were particular stumbling blocks between him and the club. However, he refrained from naming those in the media, stating,

“If I had a chance to change something, I know exactly what I would change. There are some things that need to be kept internal. A coach always gets blamed because people feel it’s his [coach’s] responsibility. But, in the end, the club, the coach and the players do things together. There are at least two things I didn’t have control over and they played the biggest part in us not succeeding. I gave that criticism to the club but it is not in the media to share," the Dutchman quipped.

Having said that, Eelco Schattorie maintained that it was a wonderful experience working at Kerala Blasters. He elaborated,

“I think I did a really good job and doing a good job doesn’t necessarily mean that you end up at the top. As a coach, your qualities remain the same. We scored the most goals ever for Kerala. Our fans demanded a more attacking playing style. We got a few good results along the way, against ATK and Bengaluru FC. A lot of youngsters improved as well through the campaign. So, it is frustrating that I don’t have the chance to see that through in the next season," Schattorie said.

Schattorie currently finds himself out of a job

With the world at a standstill due to COVID-19, it remains to be seen what the Dutchman’s next coaching assignment would be. However, he mentioned that he intended to stay positive during such troubled times and back himself, hoping for another opportunity to prove his mettle, whether it be in India or somewhere abroad.

Yet, when the dust has settled on the Blasters ‘parting ways’ with Schattorie, one can’t help but wonder if the decision had been in the pipeline for quite a while. In fact, hours after being given the boot, the club appointed Kibu Vicuna in his stead, thereby highlighting the presence of a contingency plan, much before the Dutchman was sent packing.

In 6 seasons of the ISL, the Kerala Blasters have rarely been patient with their players and managers. And, that could be something that has probably held them back from realizing their true potential.

Additionally, that aberration becomes just as perplexing when ex-managers state that they didn’t have any control over certain crucial aspects, meaning that an already tough task was made much steeper by the top brass.

After all, two ISL finals in 6 editions is something that just isn’t befitting of a club that enjoys the kind of support the Kerala Blasters do. Yet, if the incumbent manager is not given the adequate ‘cooperation’, results such as the ones against ATK and Bengaluru FC in 2019-20 would continue being the anomaly, rather than the norm.