"The players deserved this."
This has been Khalid Jamil's answer whenever he is asked about his team's change of fortunes since he took over the reins at NorthEast United from Gerard Nus.
Apart from January signing Deshorn Brown, the rest of the lineup has more or less remained the same under both Nus and Jamil. But there has been a remarkable difference in mentality on the pitch and that attitude helped them turn their season around and qualify for the playoffs.
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The Highlanders were once seven matches without a win and that was the club decided to sack Nus.