ISL 2017-18: We need to improve, says NEUFC asst. coach while ATK's asst. coach believes it's a must win for both

NORTHEAST UNITED will take on ATK at home tonight and they are beaming with confidence after their previous win against FC Goa.

Present at the pre-match press conference was their newly appointed assistant coach Eelco Schattorie. Talking about how the team plans to approach this match, he said,

"For me, I always focus on my own team. Whatever the other team is in, those situations I don’t control. I won’t comment on whether I’m happy or not happy. I just concentrate on my team because that’s the most important thing. We try to get out of the situation we’re in. We need to focus on our team, be together, work together and whatever we can get we will take."

He further added,

"I think we need to improve a lot. I’m a coach but I’m speaking from my own perspective. Normally, to implement attacking football, you have to do that in pre-season. You see teams like Goa, like Bengaluru, to reach that level. It is more difficult to reach that level at this stage. At the moment, we have a decent organization, we hope to build a good team from there."

"There are two things for sure. Before the last coach went out, the team lost 5-0. That means we have to bring the team together. Last week, everyone was working very hard. They had the intention to help each other. The defensive organization is of prime importance, doesn’t matter who you play. Secondly, we didn’t score too many goals. That’s an area to improve but at the same time, it’s the most difficult part. It depends on quality, how many players you have, who can make a difference. It’s not something we train today and go score goals tomorrow."

In conclusion talking about the league he said,

"First of all, I think it’s a good thing that the ISL is a little more spread out. As in, no games every two-three days. The format is better. And of course, the level of the foreigners in the teams will bring up the level. There’s definitely a difference in quality but in my opinion, the format is a little bit better for the players."

Meanwhile, ATK's struggle with form continues as they suffered defeat in their previous encounter too, against Bengaluru FC. Assistant coach Bastab Roy said informed the gathered media that their star player Robbie Keane has not travelled with the team due to an injury. He also added that U-17 player Komal Thatal was practising with the team but the decision lies with the coach if he'll play or not.

Talking about the match, he said,

"Planning is variable. The situation is such that it’s a must-win game for us as well as NorthEast. We’re struggling in the league table, so it’s anybody’s game at the moment."

"Table is very unpredictable. If we win two or three games in a row, we can achieve it. It’s a do or die game for us, we played some very good matches except against Pune. Luck was not with us. In the last match, we lost against Bengaluru and that made a big difference. We missed chances. It happens. We are not looking back. We look forward and try to win this match. We can only do hard work, that’s in our hands."

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