Blasters look to keep nothing to chance

Kochi: The appointment of David James as the head coach at the turn of the year, brought a fresh resurgence to Kerala Blasters in the Hero Indian Super League. The former England goalkeeper oversaw two wins and a draw in his first three games in charge but after having suffered two consecutive defeats in their last two games against Jamshedpur FC and FC Goa, the pressure is back on the 'Yellow Army' and more so on the coach who replaced former Manchester United A team Dutch coach Rene Meulensteen. 

The Blasters are currently seventh in the league standings with 14 points from their 12 games, and desperately need a win against Delhi Dynamos when the two sides meet at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Saturday to keep their hopes of making it to the top four places alive. 

"Obviously, it's not a position we wanted to be in at the start of the season. We have been watching games and hoping there are wins for the teams below us so that it gives us a chance to catch up with teams above us on the table.  But it's simple, we have got six games in hand, we plan to win all of them. But that still might not be enough," James told reporters at the pre-match press conference.

To strengthen their chances, Kerala Blasters have also signed Icelandic striker Gudjon Baldvinsson to replace Dutch striker Mark Sifneos, who was released from the club earlier this week. "With the loss of Mark (Sifineos) to injury, Gudjon is someone who gives a different option going forward. He is an accomplished player in Iceland," James said.

KBFC coach David James a tough task in hand

The Kerala Blasters coach also hinted that the club may sign few more players before the January transfer window closes. "With the transfer window still open, there is a chance to bring in few more players to replace some of the injured players in the current team. The work is not quite finished," he added.

For Delhi Dynamos, who have been languishing at the bottom of the ISL points table, a place in the top four may be out of reach already but they still have a lot to play for. "For us, there is not much chance of making it to the top four now," Delhi Dynamos head coach, Miguel Angel Portugal conceded at the pre-match pre-conference. But the Spanish tactician added that his side will want to win the remaining games to finish the season on a high. 

And for the game against Kerala, there will be added determination in his side after having suffered a 3:1 loss to them at home in the first leg played earlier in the month. Talking about Kerala Portugal said, "There mentality has changed with the appointment of a new coach. It's an important game for both of us." 

Back to wall, Dynamos’ hope to fight for survival

​​Delhi: Delhi Dynamos, on the brink of being eliminated from the competition, face an uphill task of overcoming the table toppers Bengaluru FC in the Hero Indian Super League Super Sunday clash at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.

The home side desperately needs a win if they have to keep any hopes for survival as the ISL enters into business end of competition. So not surprisingly their coach Miguel Angel Portugal has declared that his team will treat the match as "a final."  

When asked about how he'll approach tomorrow's game, Portugal told reporters, "For us now this match is like a final."  

The fortunes of these two teams couldn't have been different at this stage of the Hero Indian Super League. Delhi Dynamos are struggling to find any form and are currently languishing at the base of the points table. Portugal's side has just managed to get four points from nine games so far. 

Their last outing at home ended in 3-1 loss to Kerala FC. Bengaluru FC, on the other hand, are leading the league standings, and  Albert Roca side would try everything possible to take advantage of the out-of-form Dynamos to increase their lead at the top.

Talking about the last game Portugal said, "We deserved more from the game. We played good. We had 70% of the ball possession. Kerala took their chances and the game ended 3-1."  The Spanish coach also backed his players despite his team's lack of form "Well, for the next I have almost the same team. I think my players have executed the plans well. 

The visitors come in the game with two back-to-back wins over ATK and Kerala and will be full of confidence when they go out on the field. But at the same time, their coach Albert Roca doesn't want to take anything lightly. Talking about the opponents he said, "I have a lot of respect for their coach Portugal. They have been playing good football but they have been unlucky at the same time. We'll have to wary of their threats." 

Bengaluru FC have been exceptional so far in their debut ISL season. Having players like Sunil Chettri in top form has also been really helpful, and coach Roca was full of praise for this team at the press conference. "We have some of the best players in the country. We have the captain of the national team but you still have to make a team out of it. So we have to keep learning and improving especially tomorrow to get the right result," he said.