ISL 2022-23: Want to stay among the best in the Hero ISL – Kerala Blasters FC’s Ivan Vukomanovic

Kerala Blasters FC head coach Ivan Vukomanovic stated he wants to stay among the best in the Hero Indian Super League 2022-23. The Tuskers are currently in the third position in the ongoing Hero ISL with seven wins, one draw, and three losses.

Kerala Blasters defeated Odisha FC by 1-0 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi on Monday. Sandeep Singh scored in the 86th minute of the game to give a decisive lead to his team.

“We knew before the game that it won’t go beyond a goal. At the end, we are pleased with three points because this is the most difficult part of the season – December and first half of January – where many teams in Hero ISL will drop points, lose games, lose the grip of the competition and actually we want to stay among the best. We want to stay on top and be there. We want to be in the playoffs. We knew that today even if it (the game) was ugly (it didn’t matter) because football is not only about how we call playing a champagne, beautiful football – it’s about fighting, showing character and that was the case tonight. I’m very happy the way the boys responded in the second half, creating chances and scoring that one goal made the difference,” said the 45-year-old head coach as quoted by the official website of the Hero ISL.

In the second half, Vukomanovic replaced Sahal Abdul Samad and Rahul KP with Bryce Miranda and Nihal Sudheesh. The gaffer revealed that the decision was both tactical and forced as he wanted fresh legs on the pitch.

“It was really hot, humid, and difficult to play today and then we saw in the second half that our opponent was going a little bit down with the pace, with the freshness. So we decided to put some fresh legs, quick players, with pace who can destroy a defense line by running in, getting the ball in the space and creating chances and scoring goals,” he said.

“When we got these yellow cards also in the first half, we wanted to control this thing in the second half but they were also good today. It was just a kind of coaching choice. But giving these minutes for substitutes are also very important for their further development and career for the next year. Our substitutions players from the bench and fresh legs (helped). They brought something extra in and I think that made a difference.” he added.

Kerala Blasters FC will take on Jamshedpur FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi on 3rd January.