CHENNAI: He may have given off the air of a man who wanted to leave as the Indian Super League season ended, but a good run in the AFC Cup seems to have done wonders for Chennaiyin FC coach John Gregory. The club announced on Saturday that the Englishman had agreed to a one-year extension to his deal.
As the season winded down, Gregory’s press-conferences were littered with remarks about his exit. He even bade an emotional goodbye to Chennaiyin fans at the last home game of the season. As Chennaiyin prepared to start their AFC Cup campaign, Gregory wondered aloud if he should have left a year earlier, while still on the high of winning the ISL. Even a good run in the AFC Cup would not change his mind, he had claimed.
Something did, for the Englishman has committed to one more year. “It truly is a great feeling extending my stay with the Chennaiyin family. My journey so far in India has really given me the whole range of emotions and experience, after the ISL title triumph in the first season followed by the disappointment in the same competition last season. And I feel I have some unfinished business here. The objective is to reward our loyal and unconditional supporters with a memorable AFC Cup journey and the chance to challenge for a third ISL trophy. We will all fight together and certainly come back stronger than ever before to achieve these goals,” Gregory said. The contract extension came on his 65th birthday.
While Chennaiyin’s ISL title defence could not have gone any worse — they finished bottom of the table — their fortunes have improved markedly since. They went to the final of the Super Cup before losing to FC Goa. They also sit pretty atop their AFC Cup group table with seven points from their first three games, after victories over Nepali club Manang Marshyangdi and Bangladesh’s Dhaka Abahani.
A win or two from the next three (all away games) will likely guarantee them progress from the group. Chennaiyin will travel to Dhaka to face Abahani next, on May 15.