We will probably have to rotate few players against East Bengal, says Ivan Vukomanovic

Kerala Blasters’ boss Ivan Vukomanovic wants his players to avoid making errors.

Kerala Blasters will welcome East Bengal at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Wednesday, 3 April 2024 in their next Indian Super League contest. The 2023-24 season is in the final stages and the race for the playoff positions is heating up. Ivan Vukomanovic, head coach of the Kerala Blasters, expects his team to cross the line despite facing multiple issues during the season.

During the pre-match press conference, the head coach talked about wanting the players to avoid making silly errors as they have cost the team dearly in the past. Defender Sandeep Sharma also joined the tactician and expressed his feelings ahead of the game.

Here are the excerpts from the conversation:

Issues with the organisation

Ivan Vukomanovic had reservations about the fixture congestion which caused his team injuries and points. Evaluating Kerala Blasters’ hectic schedule, he said, “The period in January because of the Asian Cup, all the team went back to zero. It was a reset for everybody as the national team players went to Qatar. For some of us, it was a struggle with not having accommodation and being obliged to travel back and forth to Kolkata (during the Super Cup).”

“We will probably have to rotate five or six players tomorrow (against East Bengal) because a couple of hours after the match, we have to fly to Guwahati. As a coach, you try to find fresh legs, fresh people who can respond in front of our fans and hopefully get a good result,” he further said, looking miffed with the extensive travelling his team is being made to do in a short period.

Happy with the effort

The tactician praised the young players who are stepping up in the absence of injured senior players. “I am happy how the boys are getting involved, especially those who are making their debuts in their first season of the Indian Super League. We are trying to go with the flow and improvise the best we can, to fill in the gaps and things we are missing from the period before the New Year,” the head coach said while talking about how the breaks in the middle of the campaign have disrupted the side’s rhythm. 

Looking to avoid making mistakes

Ivan Vukomanovic pointed out how his team must avoid making individual errors to get across the line and salvage the points needed to make it to the playoffs. He said, “In Jamshedpur, we had many chances to score and win the game but in the last minutes, we committed some errors due to which we could have lost the game. We would like to avoid those moments, have the game under control and collect points.”

Sandeep Singh on his milestone

Sandeep Singh, one of Kerala Blasters’ mainstays in defence, has been a consistent performer this season. Talking about reaching 50 appearances, the defender said, “It was not easy for me to complete 50 games in the league for the club. I feel blessed, happy and motivated now.”

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