Josep Gombau: Every game is difficult and when you arrive at this moment in the season

The tactician hopes that his team will perform well and produce a positive result.

Odisha FC face a struggling NorthEast United FC in their upcoming Indian Super League (ISL) contest on Friday. The game will take place at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati and Josep Gombau’s men will aim to get the three points to make a strong push for a top-six finish.

Odisha FC is firmly in the middle of the race for playoffs qualification. It is imperative that the club wins the forthcoming match and the head coach agrees. Josep Gombau feels the game will be tough regardless of NEUFC’s position at the table.

He spoke about the upcoming game and more during the media interaction ahead of the fixture. Lalruatthara was also in attendance with the head coach. Here are the excerpts:

An important match in the playoffs qualification race

Josep Gombau is hoping his team can secure a crucial win that will keep the hopes of finishing in the top six positions alive. He said, “It is a very important match for us. Two games remaining in the season and we are fighting to be in the playoffs. It is a must-win game for us. We want to keep our aim alive to reach the top six. It will be a game that will be difficult against a team that has improved a lot recently.”

Need to do our job

Odisha FC has to play NorthEast United FC and Jamshedpur FC in their last two games, the bottom two teams in the league table. Responding to a question if his team has an easier run-in, Gombau said, “Not really. I don’t think we have a better chance. Every game is difficult and when you arrive at this moment in the season where you play for something, the game is difficult. We need to do our job. If we do our job well, we can be in the top six. For this reason, we are working every day. We cannot control what happens in other games. I don’t have this feeling that tomorrow’s game will be easy. We respect NorthEast United FC a lot.”

Team News

Josep Gombau provided an injury update of his squad. “We have Osama Malik with a hamstring problem. The rest of the team is good. We have a lot of players. We are taking this last part of the season using a lot of players which is important and play tomorrow and then Wednesday. My idea is to make some rotations. We never start with the same first eleven. We have five subs every game that helps the team to increase the level when players are tired. I am happy with the team, everybody is ready, available, concentrated and hungry which is the most important thing.”

Lalruathhara on mood in the dressing room

Lalruatthara spoke briefly about the mood in the dressing room and how the boys will approach the game against NEUFC. He said, “This team from the beginning has shown togetherness. The atmosphere is good, we are training hard and we will fight till the end.”