Not beautiful football, focus on now points, says Ivan Vukomanovic

Kerala Blasters are back in action four days after their last game.

Despite being in fourth place, Ivan Vukomanovic's side are in pole position to compete for the top spot in the Indian Super League 2021/22. With the least amount of goals conceded in the league and a game in hand, Kerala Blasters could easily ramp up their chances of getting their hands on the title. However, they face a tough test against ATK Mohun Bagan in their upcoming fixture. The Mariners come off the back of a splendid three-match winning streak and have been unbeaten in their last 11 games. A win against them will take the Tuskers up to second place and level on points with league leaders Hyderabad FC.

As his team approaches this match after a convincing display against SC East Bengal, Ivan Vukomanovic articulated his thoughts in the pre-match conference.

Performance of young players

Ivan Vukomanovic: I am happy that all my boys have got some playing time, especially youngsters like Sanjeev Stalin and Bijoy Varghese. I am sorry that the ISL is not played for 7, 8, 9 months, which would have more games and more minutes for the players.

Lack of chance creation

Ivan Vukomanovic: Many teams now do not care about the beauty of football. They care more about the defensive organization, how not to concede goals, how to be aware of the danger. Coming towards the end of the season, you want to be more secure and compact. The couple of chances you will get, you'll need to be more efficient. So, many games won't be pretty.

Not one team will finish the season with a full squad. With injuries, COVID cases, and the rescheduled fixtures, teams will just have to focus on refreshing, recovering, game preparation, and then the game. It's not the time to focus on statistics. It's about the points. Sometimes, we can win on set-pieces, sometimes through open play, when the opponent makes a mistake. So, till the end of the season, we will see a lot of these moments.

Continuing with the same set of players

Ivan Vukomanovic: If we continue, it will be nice. If we are going to be signing new players or retaining the current ones, there should be mutual respect. If the players like being here, they will always be welcome. In football, nothing can be done in the short term. In ISL, if you want to achieve something in one month, it won't be possible. This is important in modern football, as you create an atmosphere and the group knows and respects each other. You will then become a team with longer momentum and always fighting for the top four.

Team News

Ivan Vukomanovic: Yes, most will be available except those who are already injured like Albino Gomes, Jessel Carneiro. Ruivah is in soft quarantine and we will see if we can make him engage in duels in training. We'll see if Rahul KP can get some minutes, but otherwise, everyone is available.

ATKMB's unpredictable line-up

Ivan Vukomanovic: No, it doesn't bother me because when we speak about game preparation, we look at ourselves. You cannot control who will play or how things will happen. This is why we are more focused on how we will defend and how we will attack.

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