Coppell wants attacking game, Zico eyes three points

NO TEAM LIKES THE FEELING of being at the bottom of the table for too long. Tonight both teams would want to capitalize on each other's difficulty in scoring. FC GOA host Kerala Blasters tonight and both coaches spoke to the press on Sunday.

Zico said their focus still was to get into the top four. Speaking to the reporters said,

“We need to do our best in the next game to get the points that we need. We can see this year that this league has been very balanced and very different, and to be in the top four you need fewer points this year because of all the draws. So our main goal now is to be in the top four and our focus right now is on the game against Kerala”

Coppell, Head Coach of KBFC, said his side wants to display an all round performance. On that note he continued,

“Both teams want to win the game. We can only win by going forward. We will attack as much as possible. I know Goa are at home and they will have an added responsibility to win the match. I feel it will be an attacking match from both ends and interesting for the fans."

“We don’t want to do well only in one department, we want to perform well in all departments. In training, we try to improve our defence, be more creative in the midfield and be more clinical up front”

Zico having not having won a single of his first 4 games was satisfied with his side's show in all the the games.
 

“I think if you are playing bad football, things won't improve. But, if you see, even in our losses we played good football and created many chances and of course this win is very important because it gives us more confidence and we can carry on with the good work."

The Brazilian Zico, further said,

“You can see in these five games no team really dominated us and I just hope we can have much more luck in the next game. I just want to keep giving confidence to my team and I think we just need to improve our aim as you can see we are there in front of the goal and we are creating many opportunities and we just need to focus and improve our aim to score more goals.”

Coppell, even after being at on penultimate position on the table believes it is too early to call for any team to have a good chance to qualify for the semi final,

"We’ve conceded three goals in the league and they have been through deflection of the ball. Luck does play a part in the outcome of the match. I feel every team can be judged only at the end of 14 games. The league is such that if a team wins three games on the bounce they can move to the top”

On his opponents of the next game, Zico said

“I don't know if it will be a very open game because I am a little bit against their philosophy as they play a very defensive game with very strong marking and as both teams want the three points we may see something different and it will be a very tough game.”

Coppell about Zico and his side's threat to them commented,

"They’ve had a rough start in terms of results, most of the games have been really, really close and that applies to the whole league. If you look at the league there is not much difference between the teams. Past two years, they have been on top of the table under Zico’s guidance. It is a challenge for us to come here and play them on the back of a victory. We are looking forward to the game and hope everyone enjoys it.”

Zico on his new first- choice Keeper Subhasish Roy Chowdhury said,

"I know Roy as a goal-keeper from when he was playing for ATK and it is good to see him performing well after everything we have gone through and even Kattimani, I have trust in him. It was a bad phase so I decided to make the change and I have full faith in both my goal-keepers.”

Coppell on the topic of home advantage had the following opinion,

“The stadiums here are different from the stadiums that we have in England. The stands are close and intimidating. The few of the stadiums here have a running track around them and they are not as intimidating. I won’t argue with Zico in this regard, I too feel that playing at home is not a very big advantage”

Talking about the Goa back line, who is unbeaten from the last 2 games, Zico said,

“I am very happy with my defence and my team and if they are playing well then there is no need for changes and I always say I don't have eleven players playing but I have 24 players and everyone has to be prepared to play. It is a tough league and I also need to keep my players' health in mind while scheduling training as you can see a lot of injuries can happen, like it has happened with Mumbai, and I say to all my players that they have to be ready to play whenever required and I always play players who are 100% fit.”

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