No more red, yellow: MI coach Kieron Pollard wants fans' passion back in Wankhede

Kieron Pollard has urged Mumbai Indians fans to bring the blue back to Wankhede after taking over as head coach. Pollard wants to restore MI's winning culture and end the sight of rival RCB and CSK jerseys dominating the stands.Pollard wants to see an end to the sight of RCB and CSK jerseys inside Wankhede (Courtesy: PTI)Kieron Pollard has sent a clear message to the MI fans after becoming the new coach of the Mumbai Indians. He doesn't want to see any RCB or CSK jersey inside the Wankhede stadium during IPL matches.Over the last few years, Wankhede, which was a fortress for MI has seen fans cheering for their rivals. Loud chants of RCB and cheers for Dhoni was ringing around the stadium during matches in the last few years, where MI struggled to make an impact.Speaking to MI's YouTube channel after taking over as coach, Pollard said that he wants to bring the energy and spirit back into the side and it will start with restoring the passion within the fans and seeing more blue inside the stadium.“My first task is bring that energy and spirit. That when you walk into the Wankhede Stadium, you are not seeing the yellows and the reds and stuff like that," he said in the interview on MI’s YouTube channel. “You want to see that blue flag flying, and you want to see that passion and spirit from the fans. Pollard acknowledged that bringing the passion will begin with the team bringing in the results to restore the faith from the fans."And that can only come firstly from us. So that’s where our work sort of starts—in terms of understanding what we are playing for and who we are playing for. We recognise the fact that we have not been where we wanted to be in the last couple of years." “So there’s no hiding from that," he said. “But we are going to try our best now to ensure that we continue to play for that badge, team above self, and then ensure that when the opposition comes, it’s something that they remember from the past. Yes, it’s history, but sometimes in order to go forward, you have to go back a little bit and understand. I think that’s where it’s going to start."Pollard takes over from Mahela Jayawardene as the new coach of MI as he looks to restore them back to the glory days. Mumbai finished 9th on the points table last time around and missed out on making to the playoffs.- Ends