Josep Gombau arrived in the capital city of New Delhi ahead of the 2018-19 Hero Indian Super League (ISL) season, hoping to transform the Delhi Dynamos FC’s playing style through his progressive methods and ideas. However, the Spaniard is yet to hit the ground running with Delhi languishing near the bottom of the table and are still in the search of their first victory. Playing a struggling Chennaiyin FC side at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi offers the Lions a perfect opportunity to kickstart their stumbling season.

Ahead of hosting the defending champions, Gombau answered a range of questions in the pre-match press conference. He began by expressing the significance of Tuesday’s clash, “Look, for us, it’s a very important game. We played three games in a row in just nine days. The team is progressing well. We are building a certain style of the way we want to play and tomorrow’s an important game.”

Although with only two points to show from their efforts, the Lions will take heart from the sheer number of chances created by them. Gombau admitted that his team are a work in progress, but will soon be able to replicate his footballing ideas on the pitch. “Look, I think we are growing. We are a team that are still very new and we are trying to play one style of football. This is not something that can happen in one day and we take it game by game. I think we are progressing. I think we deserve more than the two points we have today. In all three games, we had chances to win them. The good thing is that we are playing good football and creating chances. And if we take these chances, we will win and we are focused on this. I am satisfied with the attitude of the boys, the way they are working in training and in games. I hope tomorrow we win.”

Andrija Kaludjerovic, like his head coach, arrived with a considerable reputation, but failed to hit the target in either of the opening two matches for the Dynamos. The Serbian, however, was on hand to rescue a point for his side last time around against Kerala Blasters FC. When asked about his performance, the Spaniard responded, “Yeah, it’s true that for a striker, people measure his job with the goals that he scores. And yes, to get the confidence to score goals, the equalizer in Kerala is something that is important for the team and for him also. So, I hope that he can now score more goals.”

The former La Masia coach concluded the press conference by addressing the central issue behind the goals that his side had been leaking. “To slip four goals in three games is something that can happen. It’s normal. I think of the team as one block and not a defender or midfield. For me, when we win, we win together and when we lose, we lose together. Football is a team sport. So I did not think of it as a mistake of the defenders or goalkeeper. When we conceded the goal, we all conceded a goal.”

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