Odisha FC’s manager Kiko Ramirez believes that his team needs to keep their competitive spirits high ahead of their second match of Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 20221-22 season against SC East Bengal at Tilak Maidan Stadium, on Tuesday.

Odisha FC came up against 2018-19 season champions Bengaluru FC in the first match of the campaign. After conceding the lead in the first five minutes of the match, the club showed strong defensive resilience combined with quick and swift movements on the counter. OFC won the match 3-1 and got their season rolling straightaway.

Odisha FC had five shots at goal in the match, all of which were on target and three of them resulted in goals. This could be a trend and a style of play that might develop under the newly signed coach Ramirez.

Leading up to Odisha FC’s match against SC East Bengal, coach Ramirez and captain Vinit Rai addressed the media during the official pre-match press conference.

Here are the excerpts from Ramirez’s press conference.

How would you rate your opposition SC East Bengal?

Ramirez: East Bengal is a wounded team. They are winless in their first two matches. They would be desperate for a win. So, it will make the match difficult.

After an exciting win against Bengaluru FC, what will be your strategy?

Ramirez: We have to be competitive. The last win was good but we need to live in the present and think in the future. Our focus is to compete in the best way possible.

Javi Hernandez has been in tremendous form, how important is his role in your playing style?

Ramirez: Javi is in a good shape. He scored two goals. But without his teammates he wouldn't be able to perform well. So, we need to think that football is a team sport.

We saw you roll your foriegn players. Aridai Cabrera even scored a goal. How do you think you can continue doing the same in the remaining matches?

Ramirez: The staff wants to keep all the players motivated. They have to know all the players, whether foreigners or Indians are important. They have an important role to play in the season.

Here are the excerpts from Rai’s press conference.

It was a goal fest against SC East Bengal in the last season. What will be your message to the players as a captain?

Rai: It’s in the past. Now we have to look at the remaining matches this season. We have to put the effort on the pitch and follow the coach’s instructions.

What are your individual goals for the season?

Rai: There’s no individual goals for me, especially this season. I just want to dedicate myself to the team. Last season, we had a bad time so this is a very important season for each one of us. We have started this season with a win so everyone is in a positive mindset.