ISL 2017: Pune City coach Popovic wants his team to show desire & do everything they can to win games

FC PUNE CITY host table-toppers Bengaluru FC tonight. This season Pune haven't had a good record playing at home but coach Ranko Popovic wants his players to do well irrespective of the venue they play in.

At the pre-match press conference, he said,

"We did win. I think against Mumbai (City FC), we won the game even though it was close. But as I said, I want to play in the same way everywhere, and to win games. I want my team to show desire and do everything they can to win games."

"In all these games, we can see that too. What happened afterwards, were small moments that decided the outcome. In the last game at home, a set piece decided the result. We had many more chances, but we didn’t create goals or realise the opportunities."

Talking about his opponents Bengaluru, he said,

"There are no secrets that they are strong, and a very good team who play really well. They have some individual players who are in great form now. But, this is also a good challenge for us to see how we find a way to stop them, and how to be better than the opponent. I think Bengaluru has an advantage over everyone because they started preparations earlier, and have had more matches together. How we fare in the end, we will see, because sometimes you run out of gasoline to finish the race. At the moment, I think they have a bit of an advantage over us, but I don’t want to say that they are favourites for the match. FC Pune City must be the favourites, especially when playing at home."

Pune will be missing out on left-back Lalchhuanmawia Fanai after he got a red card against Jamshepdur FC. Talking about the same, coach said,

"Rafa at left back is interesting, and we will see. Maybe it is good to be surprised and to wait sometimes. I don’t have secrets, but we will see. Baljit was out because of injury, and if in any case he is fine, then we have more options. We have some options though – maybe Adil, maybe Isaac too. If he is fit, Jewel can play in this position too. The good thing is that I like to have more versatile players. But for tomorrow, I don’t know who will be fit yet. At this moment, I think the doctor has a better idea about the team than me, and we will try to find the best eleven together."

Finally, when asked what he is expecting from his team against Bengaluru, he said,

"What we are looking for is for Pune to always improve, and to improve our style. We have to be one unit, and be strong and collective. I hope this can bring us to the point where we want to be, and to get the three points tomorrow."

Get the latest in the world of Sports, Teams, and Players! Free Delivery to your Inbox.