NorthEast United FC are in Kolkata to play defending champions Atlético de Kolkata in the 2015 Hero Indian Super League, and head coach Cesar Farias has set his sights on registering their first away win of the season. The Highlanders, who are languishing at the bottom of the table, have won two matches so far – both at home, and Farias, who previously came to the Salt Lake Stadium as coach of the Venezuelan national team for a friendly against Argentina four years ago, wants his team to break the away jinx on Saturday.

“I’m back after four years under different circumstances. Now it’s the Indian Super League. I come with total professionalism for this game in Kolkata,” he told reporters on Friday.

“That’s an area we are working on [when asked whether away results were a concern]. Last game [vs Delhi Dynamos FC] we created chances and dominated the game and here we are looking to gain three points.”

NorthEast came away with one point from Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in their last match thanks to marquee player Simao Sabrosa’s magical free-kick in the second half. Simao came off the bench to convert the free-kick and Farias hinted at continuing the same against ATK. “Simao has given us better results when he comes off the bench…Simao is an inspiring personality. He inspires his team-mates, the coaches. He has a special gift to inspire and our job is to use him at special moments,” he said.

Farias also assessed his team’s campaign so far. “In the first half we had more away games. That’s always a crucial part of the league. This year the table is very tight, it’s very compressed and even. A team may win one day and lose the next. Then there is travelling, fatigue and all that. We are low on the table but from now on we have more home games,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Rafique, who scored ATK’s match-winning goal in the final against Kerala Blasters FC last year, was excited to be back at the franchise. Rafique was called up a replacement for the dengue-hit Lalchawnkima a couple of days ago. “It feels wonderful to be back. I’m a Kolkata boy and I’m happy to be back playing for ATK. I’m just a player and I’m happy to be playing,” he said.

ATK coach Antonio Lopez Habas said Rafique could come in handy in light of quite a few injuries. “There are some injuries and they are on the way to recovery and I think Rafique is a good addition. I know he is a good player and he is very important to us now. He has an important role to play.”