Kerala Blasters FC head coach Steve Coppell thinks their win in the 2016 Hero Indian Super League against Mumbai City FC on Friday has given their campaign a new lease of life. It was the Blasters’ first win in four matches and speaking to the media ahead of their game against another Maharashtra side FC Pune City on Monday, Coppell said his team was well and truly back in business.

“It would have been nicer to celebrate the win a little more. But even before the game, we knew we had to travel and come here and prepare for this game. It’s the process of the competition, you know you can’t dwell on successes or failures for too long because the next game is round the corner. But it definitely gives everyone belief. Now everyone knows we have the capability to beat anyone in the league. We did play and beat a very good team,” Coppell said on Sunday.

Kerala have another reason to be confident for Monday’s game. Out of their four games against Pune City so far, they have been victorious on three occasions. Marquee player Aaron Hughes, however, doesn’t think that piece of information gives them any real advantage. “It doesn’t matter too much I think. Tomorrow is a different season with different players and different circumstances. We approach this game with the right attitude. It’s going to be a tough game. We are obviously playing away from home. We will continue to do what we did the other night - that is play to our strengths, do all the things we have been doing in training. And if we do them all right, I think we are giving ourselves a very good chance at a positive result,” the Northern Ireland international said.

When asked if fatigue might be an issue, considering Kerala played their last game only on Friday, Coppell said: “No, I personally don’t think so. But time will tell. Obviously it’s more demanding here in India due to the heat and humidity, but I think the players are fit and well-conditioned. We like to think we work so hard on our conditioning that we can cope with it.”

One of the many positives for Kerala to have come out of the Mumbai match was a major return to form for Michael Chopra, who scored the game’s only goal. It was also Chopra’s first-ever Hero ISL goal having represented the Kochi-based team in 2014 as well. Coppell has high hopes of the former Newcastle United star. “Yes, he has come here with a real purpose. He wasn’t probably 100% physically [fit] the previous time but now he has been working really hard. In my time with him, he has been determined to get himself as fit as he can and he has worked incredibly hard and I was very glad to see him get a return the other night. Obviously, he is a very capable player. He could be a significant factor for our season,” Coppell said.