ATK host Delhi Dynamos FC at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Sunday in what will be the final match of the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2018-19 league stage. The two-time Hero ISL champions tried their best to squeeze into the semi-finals, but a lack of goals and injuries to key stars hindered their ambitions.

At the pre-match press conference, ATK boss Steve Coppell took questions from the media. Commenting on his future in the Hero ISL and India, Coppell said, "I don’t feel as if I need a break from coaching. For me to be able to come back, somebody’s got to offer me something. I’m not in control of that. I’m not going to worry about it. When the summer comes, we’ll see what happens."

Asked if the team would be extra motivated for the match considering a win will ensure automatic qualification to the Hero Super Cup, he stated, "There’s a lot at stake for both teams tomorrow. For us, all we need is the motivation of this being our final game at home. We’d like to say goodbye and thank you to our fans for this season for the support they have given us. We’d like to go out on a high."

The Englishman then provided a brief account of what was the missing link in ATK’s season. "Center-forward injuries have certainly not helped us. Kalu Uche was injured for a long time. Emiliano Alfaro had two training sessions and then he ruptured his Achilles. Then we brought in Eli (Babalj) from Australia. We thought he might do something but because he hadn’t played for a while, at that stage of the season, it was very difficult to get personnel in. He just didn’t have enough training sessions to get up to speed. We’ve been short of a Ferran Corominas or Bartholomew Ogbeche. Somebody who can score 8-10 goals. Our lack of goals has been our downfall," he added.

Coppell also provided an explanation for not being able to sign a positive striker in the January transfer window. He said, "All I can say is that we did try very hard to get a striker in. We were very close to one striker from the MLS. In the end, we had issues with work permit. It was very complicated."

The Englishman brought about an end to his last pre-match briefing of the season by providing a key injury update. "We are hoping Manuel Lanzarote is fit but it’ll be a long shot. He’s had a thigh strain which we worked very hard and he worked very hard to correct but the body heals at its own rate. So, we are hopeful and that would be a last-minute shot," he informed.

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