FC Pune City have had a topsy-turvy campaign in the Hero Indian Super League so far, one moment close to the top, the next near the bottom of the table. It was no surprise therefore when the currently seventh placed club’s head coach Franco Colomba chose to dwell on the sheer unpredictability of the game at a press conference ahead of their 11^th round clash against second placed Atlético de Kolkata in the Deccan city on Saturday.

“This is football, and it’s not possible to foresee what can happen” quipped the Italian gaffer. “My team played three matches away against opponents who were in good form and it was difficult, but now, we have three matches at home, and we want to take advantage of that and go higher in the league table.”

Colomba however refused to dwell further on the subject and said, “I don’t think there is much to speak right now, because the pitch is (the place) where it is important to do the talking.”

A win could pitchfork Pune in sight of fourth place and Colomba acknowledged the importance of winning tomorrow’s outing: “It is important, as it is the first of the three home games and it will help us to gain confidence and boost our chances.

“I can’t say if it is a must win game, but it is a game where we have to give our maximum, and in the process, if we win, I will be happy.”

When it was suggested to him that Kolkata would be happy with one point and could be inclined to play cautiously as compared to Pune who had to gun for full points, Colomba shot back, “I can’t talk about the other team, but I feel we’ll witness a good game tomorrow. If you ask me, we need three points as it is our necessity. There is a difference between three points and one point, and we always aim for all three points.”

Striker Joaquim Abranches, who had a look in the last game against FC Goa as a substitute, said he was glad to make a comeback after a long injury layoff. “I was given a chance by the coach and I tried to give my 100 per cent to support the team,” he said. Asked if the team was feeling added pressure to perform after several losses, the Goan player said, “I don’t think so, it’s the same as before. We’ve been in this situation before, we were down in the table and we came up. We played some good games, and we can do better this time around.”