ATK gear up to welcome debutants Bengaluru FC at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Saturday in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18. The defending champions have lost all of their previous three encounters, which includes two at home. With chances of maintaining their 100 percent record of making the playoffs looking bleak, nothing other than a win against the formidable Blues would help their cause.

The host’s interim head coach Ashley Westwood, while addressing the media during the pre-match press conference, mentioned that making the playoffs is still a possibility though extremely difficult. “It is mathematically possible,” he inferred. “If we win five games and draw one or win all six games, I am sure we will be very close. So, there is motivation. But, we have to be very professional. We have to keep playing and keep getting points. We have a duty towards the fans and the club. I am sure we will be firing all cylinders and looking to get all three points.”

The 41-year-old had previously coached Bengaluru FC in the Hero I-League, and when asked of his opinions about facing his former club, he replied, “I have been around football long enough to play against former sides, as a player or a coach or a manager. So, for me, it’s just another game of football, one that we will try and look to win.”

ATK are at a lowly eighth in the league table, but Westwood shrugged off any questions regarding pressure. “I think football requires a little bit of pressure,” he remarked. “You need to win for your fans and for the team. So, I think there is pressure in every game. I don’t think there is any difference as regards to where you are in the league. Everybody wants to win a game of football.”

Having said that, he went on to acknowledge the threat their opponents of the night posed. “They are a good side,” he stated. “They are at the top for a reason. They have good foreign and Indian players who have scored a high number of goals. They also score a lot of goals from set-pieces and we have to be aware of that.”

The Englishman also highlighted the factors that had ATK faltering throughout the season. “There are many reasons; seven out of our first ten games were away and we had quite a few injuries,” he explained. “All the foreigners who had been in the side got injured. So, we really have never been a settled side where you can more or less pick the same team, week in and week out. When you look at the Bengaluru side, it has been very settled.”

Before concluding, he updated on star striker Robbie Keane’s injury. “Keane has been training,” Westwood informed. “He got some training done in the past few days and is starting to pick his load up. So, we will have to assess where he is with his fitness, but we would not like to make any wrong decisions. He is a key player of the squad. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”