Ivan Vukomanovic assures KBFC will fight till end; Jamil's side match ready

The reverse fixture between these two sides ended in a goalless drab.

Kerala Blasters will eye a return to winning ways when they play the bottom-placed NorthEast United in their next match in ISL 2021-22. Ivan Vukomanovic saw his side's 10-game unbeaten run draw to a close in the 0-1 defeat to Bengaluru FC in their last game. The Blasters will want to quickly return to winning again, to consolidate their place in the top four.

The same cannot be said for Khalid Jamil's men, who are at the bottom of the standings. NorthEast United FC were thrashed 5-0 in their last game against Hyderabad FC. With their playoffs hopes long over, the Highlanders are fighting it out with SC East Bengal to avoid the wooden spoon.

Ahead of the game, here is what coaches Ivan Vukomanovic and Juan Ferrando said at the pre-match press conference.

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Kerala Blasters coach Ivan Vukomanovic

You said Kerala Blasters didn't have enough players available for Bengaluru FC game. Was that a strategy?

Ivan Vukomanovic: No, actually, we didn’t know until the last day. We didn’t know if the players would be available for the game because many started training after 15 days of isolation. They started training one day or two days before the game. We want to take care of the players’ health, even if it’s about not playing them in the game. We don’t want to take any risk because, for us, the most important thing is the health of our players.

Kerala Blasters play seven matches in February. Are you worried of the schedule?

Ivan Vukomanovic: It will not be an issue only for us. I think it’s the same for every team. Muscle injuries are bad at this time of the season. We need to look after the players. Most probably we will rotate them at some stage. That’s the way it is. We want to avoid injury as much as possible in February.

Fans have backed Kerala Blasters through this tough period. Your message to them

Ivan Vukomanovic: I think they have been amazing from the start, supporting us. We have wanted to build a strong mentality and identity that would never leave the players from the start of the season. It doesn’t matter if you’re leading or losing a game, we will fight till the end. We have an obligation to this shirt. That’s the kind of feeling we have adopted and we want to keep it.

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Adrian Luna on his contract with Kerala Blasters

Adrian Luna: I have a two-year contract with the club, and I intend to be here next season as well. I hope all our foreigners will return and play for Kerala Blasters in the upcoming season. We will keep fighting for this team and bring joy to our fans.

NorthEast United coach Khalid Jamil

How difficult is it to get the team back in the proper mental shape after a heavy defeat?

Khalid Jamil: Looking back at the previous game, yes, it was not up to the mark. But now we have to think about the future, which is tomorrow, that is the most important thing. And about the players, they are professional. They know that sometimes things happen (according to the plan) in football, sometimes does not happen. So we must not think about it. We must (now) think about tomorrow's game. This is the best solution for us.

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Thoughts on new signings

Khalid Jamil: Yes, yes. Looking back to the start with (Zakaria) Diallo. No doubt after he came he brought solidity in defense and I can say he's one of the best players we have at this moment. He is a good player, he needs time and he has good experience and he's also mixing with everybody. He’s defensively very strong and talking about Marco (Sahanek), he's also a versatile player and he also can play in any position in attack. He's also doing a good job and talking about Marcelinho, everybody knows his experience also counts. So, three of them are good signings for us.

Thoughts on Kerala Blasters

Khalid Jamil: Talking about Kerala Blasters FC, they are definitely a good team, they also have good players, who are doing well this season. And talking about them we played them a long time back, when the situation was different. But one good point is we have all the players with us now. So we should do good and we are ready for this match.

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