We need to do our best to get the three points against Kerala Blasters-Zico

The Brazilian is keen to put together a sequence of wins.

Zico will face English coach Steve Coppell when FC Goa host Kerala Blasters at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Fatorda on Monday. FC Goa have failed to impress this season as they stand bottom of the table with just four points from six matches played. However the Brazilian coach will be high on confidence after tasting his first win of the league in the last match against Mumbai City FC. “In this game we need to do our best to get the points that we need. This year the tournament is balanced and may be different from the other seasons. To be in the top four, you will need fewer points because of all the draws. Our main goal is to be in the top four and the focus right now is on the match against Kerala Blasters, ” Zico said during the pre-match media interaction. Zico thinks that playing bad football will be a bad sign for the team but he believes that his team has always played good football and created many chances. But, they were poor in finishing the opportunities. He is also aware that winning is very important and it always boosts confidence for coming matches. The defense, though, is now in order with Gregory Arnolin starting the last two matches and even marquee player Lucio returning to the fold as a substitute in the last game. Asked whether he would now have to make a tough choice for the centre-back pairing since Lucio and Arnolin are both available, Zico said a final call will be taken only after the training session later in the day. “I always prefer hundred percent fit players, even if I make them play in a different position,” explained the FC Goa boss. Even Kerala Blasters have experienced a slow start of the season as they have just five points in their basket after playing five matches. When asked about his thoughts on playing against Kerala Zico said, “I don’t know if it will be open match against Kerala because they play a very defensive game and are strong in marking, but as both teams need to collect all three points it can be something different tomorrow.” As compared to other teams Goa have one less foreign player in their squad after missing the transfer deadline. “There was a miscommunication. What I thought was that Subhasish (Chowdhury) was on trial with us in the pre-season tour. So if he passed it, I would have signed a foreign striker or if he didn't clear it than I had the option to bring in a foreign goalkeeper and would have signed another Indian striker. But in this time we forgot to keep to the ISL deadline on transfers, ” explained 63-year-old Brazilian. It will be equally important for both the teams to grab full points when they face each other tomorrow. But for Zico it will be more important as they haven’t won any match at home this season. Photo © ISL Media