PRE MATCH QUIPS: Vingada wants the fans to back the team; Habas expects a tough match

WINLESS IN THE LAST SIX, NorthEast United have the worst recent form of all Indian Super League teams. They will be facing a Pune team that is not only in the fourth place, but also defeated teams like Mumbai City and Atletico de Kolkata. 

Vingada expects his side to give it all in the remaining games. He appeals to the fans to come out in numbers to support the team saying,

"So, tomorrow is going to be a difficult game and the most important one as it is a crucial game. We need to get three points for our motivation. In the last two games, we missed five points but according to the way we played, we deserved six points but since this is football its always unpredictable. We may have missed chances and we had our opportunities to score but we couldn’t convert and finish the game and they ended up scoring in the last few minutes but we’re still not K.O’d, we’re still alive but tomorrow we have to win, we need to be strong and special”

Vingada continued, 

"My request to the NorthEast United fans is that please come to watch the game to encourage the fans because this game is very important and we need to win through their help, and if we do we’ll be in the middle of the fight. We need to be special because Pune has 15 points even when they didn’t start so well, so even we can do this and it’s crucial for us to get the three points."

FC Pune City have got a set of results in their favour recently and will look to bring that confidence in the next game. Habas on the NEUFC challenge said,

“Tomorrow's match will be very different from the Delhi match. We played well against Delhi and we saw more effort from the team but tomorrow we expect a very tough match. It’s a different match tomorrow,” Habas told reporters at the pre-match press conference in Guwahati."

NorthEast recent losses have been conceding goals late in the game. To this trend, the NEUFC Head Coach explained,

“Of course, I understand why this happened in Goa. It was because I played many players in front, but it was a different situation  when we had the game in our control and they scored from a free-kick and not a counter-attack, so my team was prepared for this situation. It happens because its football, we were very upset about how we conceded the goal because we had the ball in our control and it escaped.”

The recent good run has come on the backs of a not-so-encouraging start for the season, where Habas was suspended for the first four matches and the team did not get good results their way. To this Habas said,

"New city, new team, new coach and as you know 90 percent of the team was new. Also coach was suspended for four games and a lot was happening in the beginning. The team is working very well and enjoying and all the players are more comfortable,”

NorthEast have a sort of opposite fortunes in comparision to Pune. The Highlanders kicked off the season on a good note with enjoying the top four positions for quite some time but later their form detoriated as the season went by. Habas speaking about his team's next opponents said,

"You all know in the beginning NorthEast was playing very well and was on top. They were playing very fast and we respect everyone. We have said to our players that NorthEast is one of the best teams in ISL so we think tomorrow is going to be very, very difficult. They have good players, good fans and we think this match is going to be really tough for us.”

Coach Habas, part of the Indian Super League since its inaugural edition, talking about the progress Indian players since the past three years commented,

"We understand that in the beginning Indian football needs good players and very good international players and now after three years I have nearly 44 games in the ISL and it's true we need more Indian players in the squad. The level of Indian players in the last two years has increased a lot and we are really happy with our Indian players,” 

Habas continued saying,

“So, from next year onwards we expect to have more Indian players. And this batch of Indian players and international players has helped Indian players grow and improve their performance. So, I think in the next one or two years we will see more Indian players and less international players.”

Available for selection: Mailson Alves and Subrata Paul 
Unavailable for selection: Gustavo Lazzaretti will be out of action due to a ligament injury.

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