FRESH AFTER THE LAST WIN, FC Pune City will host Kerala Blasters, who too, won their last game.
Ranko Popovic, coach of FC Pune City, spoke to the media ahead of tonightâs fixture.
âLook, I think topping is very good, but I said from the beginning, if you want to have success, you must be ready to play defensive and offensive at the same time,â the Serbian explained. âIf we find a balance between the two, we will be a good team. And we are trying to be good; we are still not as good as we want to be, but we are on the way to that. And this is what we want; to be one good, strong, solid team that plays without oscillations.â
Popovich has said in the past that he does not like to rotate his squad too often and ahead of tonightâs game, he said he might have to re-think that.
âYou must always play and try to find some good solution in different games,â he remarked. âWhen you have this situation, it is a great challenge. But I donât like it because I like to repeat the team, and I like to give the guys a bit of continuity. Unfortunately, there are some problems that does not allow some players to enjoy the game tomorrow.â
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On Alfaro being needing rest after playing every game for FC Pune City so far, Popovic replied
âIf it is necessary to rest Alfaro, I will. But I donât feel this. If he comes to me and tells me that he wants to have rest, itâs fine. But if you see the games, if I want to change Alfaro before the end of a match, he is not happy. And this is good. I want everyone to be like this and have this mentality to play 90 minutes.â
Talking on the opponents, Kerala Blasters, the FCPC head coach was aware of the danger possessed by David Jamesâ team,
âIt will be a very difficult match,â Popovic inferred. âBecause we know what Kerala is like. It is a traditionally good club. And especially, now at this moment, there are some fresh players. They have a new challenge, and the motivation is big for them. Of course, you would never know what you can expect in any game. But for me, I think it depends on how we are. If we are good, it will be easy for us. We have to dedicate 100 percent of our work to all the things.â