A new country, a new experience for him but with major takeaways from the Turkey training sessions, FC Pune City head coach David Platt looked vibrant ahead of his team’s Hero Indian Super League Season 2 opener [ISL] against state-rivals Mumbai City FC at the Shree Chhatrapati Shivaji Sports Complex on Monday. “I think as a coach I am very confident and so are the players,” Platt said.Last season, Mumbai City FC won the home game 5-0 but Pune City FC settled the score winning the corresponding fixture 2-0. Talking about his rivals, Platt opined: “We've not seen them play, so I think it is best if we concentrate on our game.”The Englishman did not keep himself from praising his current squad. “As a coach, I am impressed with the Indian players. I wasn't expecting this and they have pleasantly surprised me. As a squad, we have very offensive-minded players. We would like to control tomorrow's game, and every other game as well,” Platt asserted.“The Indian players in our squad are capable to start every game. They form the basis of the next 5-6 years in India,” he added.Platt further clarified his stance on the unavailability of a few Indian players for at least the first couple of matches on account of the upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifier against Turkmenistan. “It is important we have good foreign players but it's very important that we have good Indian players, too. It's the biggest pleasure for a football player to represent the national team, so we were happy to have Pritam [Kotal], Eugeneson [Lyngdoh] and Jackichand [Singh] go away on national duty,” the 49-year-old said.Meanwhile, Pune City FC midfielder Didier Zokora was looking at the league as a way to pay tribute to his long-deceased brother. “I want to do well for my brother. He is my inspiration and he wanted to be a footballer like me. I want to do well for him,” the Ivorian said.
