The first half of the 2018-19 Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) proved to be a forgettable one for the likes of Kerala Blasters FC and FC Pune City. The Stallions managed to pick up just 11 points, while Kerala could only manage nine from their 12 matches so far. As we move into the second half of the campaign, all teams will be looking to finish the season strongly with the focus primarily on what new signings will bring to the table. For Kerala and Pune fans, however, all eyes will be on their new head coaches as both sides look to turn over a new leaf.

Here, we take a closer look at what to expect from both sides under new management.

Kerala Blasters FC

Kerala Blasters beat arch-rivals ATK in the opening match of the season but have failed to register a single victory in any of their subsequent 11 ties. After a humiliating loss at the hands of Mumbai City FC in December, the club parted ways with head coach David James.

However, with the appointment of Nelo Vingada as the new head coach, the Kerala fans will be hoping for a positive ending to what has been a disastrous season till now.

The Portuguese coach does have prior experience in the league, having guided NorthEast United FC to a respectable 5th place finish back in 2016. Vingada has coached a number of senior national teams, including Malaysia and Jordan. Known as the Professor, the Portuguese coach’s primary responsibility will be to bring the much-needed stability to the Blasters camp and help the team put up a strong front in the remaining six matches.

The main criticism of Blasters under David James was the lack of an identity in their style of play. Despite trying to play expansive football, Kerala seem to have been lacking any finesse on the tactical front. The team's inability to close out tight matches under pressure has also been detrimental to their poor points tally so far. Vingada will look to instil some much-needed grit and tactical acumen to the team.

With Kerala being a young squad and Vingada's proven track record of excelling in developing young players, the 65-year-old can prove to be an excellent choice to helm the side. However, only six matches might be too short a time frame to produce any noticeable results.

FC Pune City

After a successful 2017-18 campaign where they made it all the way to the semi-finals, much was expected of the Stallions under former head coach Miguel Angel Portugal. However, things didn’t go according to plan and a string of poor results prompted the club to part ways with Portugal early on in the season. Pradyum Reddy was appointed as the interim coach and the 42-year-old did a commendable job to steady the ship in the latter half of the campaign. Under Reddy, the Stallions did manage to win three of their last five encounters.

Pune fans will be hoping for further improvements with the appointment of Phil Brown as the new head coach. The Englishman comes with bags of experience and is known for his stint with Hull City. Brown saved the Tigers from relegation from the English Championship, before guiding the team to promotion to the Premier League in the very next year.

Brown will be expected to tighten the Stallions' leaky defence and figure out a way to get the best out of his star strikers Marcelo Pereira and Iain Hume. With Brown favouring the 4-4-2 formation which deploys two forwards up front, we may see Pereira and Hume play together and thrive under him.

The Englishman is known for making bold decisions and isn't afraid to shake things up, trying out players in different positions. So, expect some surprises in his team selections over the course of the season. Ashique Kuruniyan's versatility shone through during India's AFC Asian Cup 2019 campaign, and the youngster may have a big role to play under the new head coach.

The Stallions are nine points off the top four and a run in the knockout stages seems unlikely. But if Brown can get his side fit and firing, we could definitely see the Stallions embark on a remarkable cavalry charge to conclude their campaign.

Only time will tell whether Vingada and Brown can make an immediate impact, but it will be interesting to see how they adjust to life in the Hero ISL.

Click here to view their list of fixtures for the remainder of the season.

Related tags:

Kerala Blasters FC 2018-2019