ISL: Kerala Blasters face confident Delhi Dynamos on Sunday
Kochi, Oct 8 (IANS) Struggling to find their feet in the Indian Super League (ISL), Kerala Blasters coach Steve Coppell has called for massive improvement from his side as they face a confident Delhi Dynamos football club in a league tie at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Sunday.
Kerala Blasters have suffered two defeats on the trot, including one at home against Atletico de Kolkata.
Their previous loss was in the opener against NorthEast United FC, although both were narrow solitary goal victories.
“I think we can improve in all areas. Defensively we looked fairly tight (in the last game) and conceded a defensive goal,” the Kerala Blasters manager said.
“The midfield got a little bit detached on occasions and the strikers have to improve our scoring level. We can do that. We are working on the training ground,” he added.
Coppell, with lot of experience under his belt, made six changes in the last game and appears to continue with the policy of chopping and changing.
“I don’t think there will be significant changes but there will be changes. The nature of the competition is demanding and you have to evaluate the team and individual performances,” the former Manchester United winger said.
“There will be a few changes. We are looking forward to this game,” he added.
On the other hand, having won both their inaugural match against Chennaiyin FC, Delhi Dynamos will be aiming to pile up the pressure against the struggling hosts.
Dynamos manager and Italian World Cup winner Gianluca Zambrotta is unlikely to change a winning combination, especially after a convincing 3-1 win against Chennaiyin FC.
The team looked incredibly good in their opening clash against the defending champions but Zambrotta is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.
“It will be an important match for us. We won against Chennaiyin FC but we have to lie low and think nothing happened. We just have to focus on the next match and continue to do our best in the future,” Zambrotta said.
Zambrotta’s side will start favourites against the struggling Kerala Blasters, although the manager looked at the situation differently.
“Now obviously it’s a worse moment for Kerala because they lost two matches against good opposition. But they are playing at home and are hungry. With 60,000 supporters, it’s obviously a big advantage for them,” the Italian World Cup winner said.