Kerala Blasters sporting director Karolis Skinkys said Ivan Vukomanovic provided him the biggest trust among other coaches while shortlisting candidates for the role of head coach at the club.

Vukomanovic was announced head coach of Kerala Blasters in June, taking over from interim coach Ishfaq Ahmed. Skinkys interviewed more than 100 coaches for the position of head coach at Kerala Blasters but said that Vukomanovic's trust won him over

“We were looking for a coach who needs to prove something," he said in an interview to The Times of India. "It’s important to have ambitious persons in the team. Ivan is an ambitious coach; he’s coming here to prove and to teach as much as possible. I have no doubt about that."

“Ivan is a players’ coach. The players will follow him and won’t have doubts. He will help the team to be well organised which was not the case with Kerala last (few) years. He has worked in many countries and his knowledge is unquestionable. When we looked at all the coaches, he was the one who gave us the biggest trust,” Skinkys added.

Kerala Blasters finished 10th on the table in the 2020-21 Hero ISL season, winning just three out of their 20 matches. This was the fourth straight season that the club couldn't make it to the playoff stages. The sporting director asserted that their objective was to become a team that was unbeatable and win every game.  

“Our target is to win and not allow anyone (to) beat us easily in the next game,” said Skinkys. “We start from basics which we were not able to do last year. Maybe we talk too much. Now is the time to be well organised and work very hard in each game. If you ask me about targets, it’s to be the hardest team to beat in the next game.”

Kerala Blasters will open their campaign against ATK Mohun Bagan on 19th November in what will be the opening fixture of the upcoming Hero ISL season. With a reputable coach in Vukomanović, who has coached in the top divisions of Belgium, Slovakia and Cyprus, fans will be looking to the Serbian tactician to turn around their fortunes.