It was a strange and difficult season for us, says Punjab FC coach Staikos Vergetis

Staikos Vergetis praised his players for their hard work and constant efforts throughout the ISL season.

Punjab FC will take on East Bengal for the final game of their debut campaign of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 season. Unfortunately, the Shers are already out of contention for the playoff spot but can spoil the party of Carles Cuadrat’s East Bengal side whom they face in their upcoming fixture. The game at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi will be of utmost importance as East Bengal’s aspirations for the playoff spot will certainly depend on the result of this fixture.

Punjab FC head coach Staikos Vergetis answered all the queries from the media ahead of this clash. Let’s have a look at the excerpts from the conference.

Preparation for the game

Greek head coach Staikos Vergetis in his opening remarks shared his thoughts on the preparation of the game and said, “We have already prepared for all the games. We have to analyze the strong points of the opponent, such as what are they doing well, and what weaknesses they have so we can take advantage of them. We did that and we have a video analysis of the players.”

Thoughts on the debut campaign

The mentor was asked to share his thoughts on Punjab’s campaign in the ISL following their promotion from the I-League. He replied diligently that he was not satisfied with how the season had panned out but was satisfied with the efforts that his inexperienced side had made. “It was a strange and difficult season for us. The text that has stayed now is not satisfaction. I would not say this because we were two games before finished the normal season in our objective for the sixth position and we lost this.

Furthermore, he went on and elaborated, “I can see around many clubs happy with what they have done until now. It surprised me because even though this is our first year in the ISL and we did not succeed in getting the sixth position, we are not happy. I cannot ignore the effort that our players made. I cannot fail to acknowledge that they put their everything on the field in every game.”

Staikos Vergetis went on and exclaimed, “I don’t have any complaints for our players. I think that we had a bit of bad luck in some of the games. I remind you that when we went to Odisha, we lost a very big chance with free posts to score in the counter-attack. I am content with the hard work of the players, but I believe that from the moment that we reached the end to fight for the big target, I’m not happy that we did not succeed in catching this.”

Severe heat in Delhi

The Indian football season usually gets over before April but this season is expected to finish in May. When questioned about how the team coped with the severe heat in the national capital, Vergetis stated, “We were seeing the irritation of our players, but we tried to adapt to the situations. We trained in Mohali, while we played in Delhi. We didn’t shout, we tried to adapt and did our best. This is what our players were doing. All of the staff around the players took care of them so that they can play and offer to the team.”

Manthenlang Kipgen’s words

Manthenlang Kipgen is a Punjab FC academy graduate who has been promoted to the senior side. He elucidated his journey with the senior team and quipped, “I’m very happy to get a chance in the first team to play in the ISL. My experience has been great. My journey with the club has been fantastic. I hope to continue to grow more and contribute to the team.”

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