Javier Gurri Lopez: We have been competing in all the games

The Hyderabad FC interim head coach also revealed that he feels the only game his side did not compete in was against FC Goa.

Hyderabad FC face NorthEast United FC in their final match of the ongoing league season. So far, the new entrants have managed to emerge victorious in only one game. They would be edging to bag another win to at least end their campaign on a positive note. Ahead of the encounter, Hyderabad’s interim head coach Javier Gurri Lopez interacted in the pre-match press conference. Javier Gurri Lopez was asked about how he was coping with the difficult results that the side has had to endure over the course of the past few months. “Yes, of course, this season has not been the best situation for the players when I arrived. But, they are keeping the motivation that is fantastic," he began. [KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] "We have been competing in all the games. First game against Mumbai, we could beat them until the last minute. We got the draw in the last minute. We could beat Bengaluru and if you saw we deserved a draw. Then we could beat Jamshedpur in the last game," he added. "The only game where we did not compete was against Goa. Then for us tomorrow is the last game of the season and everybody is involved in to get the three points and to finish the season in a good way,” Javier Gurri Lopez further added.

Thoughts On Positives From The Season

Furthermore, Javier Gurri Lopez was asked to elaborate on whether there were any positives for the team from this season. “Always there are positives. For example, maybe we can give more chances to younger players. We have many younger players with big talents like Liston Colaco and now also Hitesh (Sharma) has the possibility to participate in the game," he remarked. Marko Stankovic was then prompted to speak on the mood of the dressing room, amid the gloomy results that the team had to experience. The player stated, “Yes, like you said from the start it’s the first season of the new franchise. The result shows that maybe we thought it was going to be a little bit easier than it was. Maybe, the project is still at the start. I think the next year the coaching will be really good. But, the results are a mirror of how the whole franchise has been this year. It was very difficult from the side." [KH_ADWORDS type="4" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] Javier Gurri Lopez was asked about his views on the other teams and what has caused the bridge between the top teams in the league and the others to widen. “Yes, I have been watching all the games and I saw that there is not much difference between the first team in the qualification and the last that we are. But, there are good teams with the mentality that they have, the winning mentality, like Bengaluru, Goa, like Chennai," he opined. "They have good mentality and they know they are fighting all game, but finally the winning mentality gives them the possibility to win the games. This is the difference between the teams that are at the top and the teams that are low and out of qualification like us,” the Hyderabad FC interim head coach concluded.

Team News

Giles Barnes, Matthew Kilgallon and Kamaljit Singh are out of contention for Thursday's match due to their respective injuries.

Head To Head

Both these teams have faced each other only once before, with NorthEast United winning 1-0. [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News | Article Continues Below"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

Probable Lineup

Kattimani, Souvik, Adil, Gurtej, Panwar, Colaco, Poojary, Gordillo, Stankovic, Marcelinho, Bobo.

Broadcast

The game will be played at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati on Thursday. It will be broadcast live on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD. It will also be available to stream on Hotstar and Jio TV.