After a poor campaign, Kerala Blasters will hope to sign off their season on a high with a victory over NorthEast United FC in front of their home fans on Friday. The Blasters come into this match on the back of a heavy 3-0 defeat to Goa. Currently ninth in the table, Kerala will have their work cut out for them against a strong NorthEast outfit.

At the pre-match press conference, Kerala head coach Nelo Vingada took questions from the media. Talking about the prospect of facing his former side, one he coached back in 2016, Vingada said, "It is important to play a good game and win the last game. NorthEast means a lot to me because they gave me the first chance to come to India in 2016. I would like to congratulate them for making it to the semi-finals."

While their Hero ISL campaign might be coming to an end, the veteran coach pointed out that his team still had the Hero Super Cup to look forward to. "Tomorrow is our last game in the league. We are here to fight and try to put in our best. We have the Hero Super Cup coming and we cannot afford to make mistakes because if you lose one game you are out. We take everything game by game. Of course, tomorrow is the most important game. It is important to look forward to the next match. If we finish in ninth place, then it is my obligation to improve the club. We need to be better next season and to fight," he said.

Evaluating his side’s performances since he took over in January, VIngada said, "For three games we played well. The first game against ATK, we played well and we got a draw. The match against Delhi was a bad game. Goa beat us 3-0 which was also a bad game. We conceded two goals in one minute and Goa deserved to win. Against Chennaiyin, we had a good game. Tomorrow I hope we enjoy a good game and I hope the fans enjoy it. I am sure the future will be better than it was."

The Portuguese coach also spoke on the development of India’s young players over the past few years. "When I came to India in 2016, I was surprised because I saw better technical quality than what I expected. In a lot of games, I saw players with a lot of quality. So, there's a lot of potential. No doubt about that. They have a strong desire to learn and be better professionals," he stated.

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