Following a 1-0 defeat by NorthEast United FC in the 2016 Hero Indian Super League opener, Kerala Blasters eye improving their performance a notch or two when they take on Atlético de Kolkata at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Wednesday.

Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Kerala head coach Steve Coppell spoke of moving on from that defeat besides also discussing the need for his players to up the tempo against the 2014 winners.

“No the first game we tried a possession-based game and it didn’t work out. The games I've seen on TV are more high-tempo and I hope we play much more up-tempo this game. I hope we match up with Kolkata, and make the fans happy,” the Englishman said.

“You could say the forward didn’t move enough [against Kerala], there are loads of ways to look at this. There wasn't much in the last game, both teams were cancelling out each other.”

One good piece of news greeted Kerala ahead of the match in the form of star midfielder Josu Currais who will be available for selection after missing the previous game on account of a suspension. Coppell said with Josu’s return his team will have more balance and Ishfaq Ahmed wouldn’t have to play out of position again. “Josu is a left-footer and he plays as left-back as well. You have to do your best with the given available set of players. We will have better balance going forward.”

Coppell also hoped that star striker Antonio German will soon shake off his inconsistent performance against the Highlanders and again show the form that made him an instant hit with Kerala fans last year. “He was injured two weeks back and he is recovering from that. But he will get fitter over a few games because in football you get stronger as the league goes on and more matches are played,” the 61-year-old said.

Meanwhile, striker Mohammed Rafi said KBFC stood a good chance to beat the mighty Kolkatans as they were playing in front of huge home support. “We are preparing well for tomorrow's match against ATK, since it's our home we will have to put some pressure on them and hope for a good match.”

“This is our home ground, we are fully focused and we will be putting in our 100%.

Coppell echoed the same sentiments when asked if the fact they hadn’t trained at all in the stadium recently might compromise their chances. “We haven’t trained here, a lot of our players haven’t played on this ground at all. But we'll have to make it all up with the fans that are going to pour in. I'll be looking forward to the noise and seeing a lot of yellow,” he said.