We're going to work a lot & come back stronger: Sergio Lobera

Published at :October 8, 2023 at 4:22 AM

Modified at :December 13, 2023 at 1:01 PM

(Courtesy : ISL Media)

Sergio Lobera mentioned that he is building a new team at Odisha FC.

Odisha FC tasted defeat for the very first time in ISL 2023-24, courtesy of a splendid performance by FC Goa. The game was deemed ‘crazy’ by Sergio Lobera, and rightly so.

The game had five goals, including a 96th minute winner, and kept the fans on the edge of their seats with its splendid nature.

After a tough fight and a disappointing defeat, Odisha’s head coach Sergio Lobera spoke to the media. Here are the excerpts from the conversation.

Thoughts on the game

Sergio Lobera shared his thoughts on the game, and said, “Obviously we are disappointed. Again we lost points in the last minute. Like against Mumbai City in the 98th minute, we lost two points, and today we lost three points.”

The Spaniard added to his comments, “What a crazy game, I think it was a very open one. We started the game really well but then we lost the ball very easily. It is not the way you want to play because I'll expect a game with more beautiful football from both teams.”

“I am not happy, we need to improve a lot of things. We are building practically a new team, but we need to improve and this is my job as a coach,” he admitted.

On the takeaways

Speaking about some of the key takeaways that he assesses from this game, Lobera said, “It's difficult for us. We are not making excuses but we are playing five games in 19 days across two competitions. Some players are tired, but there are no excuses, we can compete better. We made a lot of mistakes, losing the ball in easy situations. We need to try to avoid this because we are competing against a very good team.”

On the travelling fans

Sergio Lobera also apologised to the travelling fans, and promised to make amends in the games to come.

“They are coming to help us, to support us and obviously it's disappointing for them and also for us. I can only thank them for coming here and trying to help us. We are going to work a lot and come back stronger,” he said.