First goal is to change the mood in the camp, says new Kerala Blasters coach Catala

David Catala during an interaction with the media in Kochi on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT

With the All India Football Federation’s Super Cup less than 20 days away in Bhubaneswar, Spaniard David Catala may not have much time to study his team closely before its next big outing. But the new Kerala Blasters head coach is clear about what he needs to do first.

“I would like to change the mentality of the players, I know this season has been very hard for them and I would like to change things mentally a bit, to help them compete with another kind of mood,” said the 44-year-old at the Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.

“That is the first thing I’d like to change because I see some of them, they are very disappointed with the results of the season.”

Catala has landed here at a torrid time.

After making the playoffs thrice consecutively under Serb Ivan Vukomanovic, the Blasters finished a disappointing eighth in the Indian Super League this year, a season where the Kochi-based side now has its third coach after Swede Mikael Stahre and interim head coach T.G. Purushothaman.

Catala’s arrival at a time when the season is almost over should help him have a close look at the players and decide who should stay in his squad for the next ISL season.

“It’s clear we need to build a new team and new players. Coming now also gives me a good idea what we need for the future, to have a good team and to try to get the maximum in the next season,” said the former central defender who played over 500 professional matches before becoming a coach five years ago.

The defence had been the Blasters’ big weakness this season. The team scored 33 goals but conceded 37, many of them in the last few minutes of matches. Now, Catala is keen to find the right balance.

“We will try to find the balance to be a compact team and at the same time be an aggressive team,” he said.

The Blasters have the biggest fan base among ISL sides but the series of disappointing results made the fans bitter which put further pressure on the team this season. For sure, Catala will be under close scrutiny and that could put him under pressure right from the start.

But Catala, who had coached leading clubs in Cyprus, Croatia and in Spain’s third division earlier, is prepared for the challenge.

“If I decided to be a head coach and before that a professional football player, I would want this pressure. I have to handle this pressure and I like to handle this pressure. I’m ready for that,” he said.