With the Super Cup less than 20 days away in Bhubaneswar, David Catala, Kerala Blasters’ new coach, has limited time for team assessment but the Spaniard has a clear priority.
“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 for three consecutive seasons under Serb Ivan Vukomanovic, the Blasters finished a disappointing eighth in the Indian Super League (ISL) this year, a campaign where the Kochi-based club 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.
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NEED TO BUILD A NEW TEAM
“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 has played over 500 professional matches before becoming a coach five years ago.
The defence had been the Blasters’ biggest weakness this season. The team had scored 33 goals but conceded 37, many of them in the last few minutes. 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.
KBFC has one of the biggest fan bases among ISL teams but the series of disappointing results made the supporters bitter which puts further pressure on the team this season. Inevitable, the Spaniard will be under close scrutiny and that could put him under pressure right from the start.
But Catala, who had earlier coached leading clubs in Cyprus, Croatia and in Spain’s third division, is prepared for task ahead.
“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.
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com