Photo credit: NorthEast United FC

NorthEast United FC goalkeeping coach Asier Rey is determined that the players are going to give their best and end the season on the positive note when they take on SC East Bengal in their Hero Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Tilak Maidan Stadium, in Vasco, on Monday evening.

The Highlanders were handed a 2-3 loss by Jamshedpur FC in their previous game. They are currently at the 10th spot in the league table, with 13 points from 19 matches, which includes three wins and four draws.

Rey addressed the pre-match press conference ahead of Monday’s game alongside Pragyan Gogoi.

Here are the excerpts from the press conference:

NorthEast United FC will play against SC East Bengal in their last match of the season. How are you preparing for it?

Rey: It is important to finish with good feelings, it's important to finish by winning the match, for us, for our fans, and to show for the next season. We are working hard to finish with good feelings.

How has been your experience in the Hero Indian Super League so far? What is your opinion on the Indian goalkeepers in your team and the entire league overall?

Rey: As you know this is my second season here or (roughly) one and a half years completed. The goalkeepers have a big chance to continue improving. There are good goalkeepers in the league, we can see in the national team. And we see a lot of mistakes in all the teams this season, but don't know why. But I think they are good goalkeepers and they have to continue improving.

A win against SC East Bengal will ensure that NorthEast won't finish at the bottom of the points table. Considering the situation, how will the team’s approach be for tomorrow’s game?

Rey: It is easy to prepare for the game because the players are focused on the game to win. We know that SC East Bengal is a good team. They do very good things in the matches, but maybe they are unlucky in some ways. But we are focused on the next game, all the players are training very well, they have fought throughout the season. And that is our idea, and not to think about winning or losing. Our focus is to win the last match and finish with good feelings.

Highlanders’ midfielder Pragyan Gogoi was also present at the press conference and responded to the questions put forward by the media.

Here are the excerpts from the players press conference:

You are local for the Guwahati-based club and played a few games this season. How was your experience and what have you learnt the most?

Gogoi: Yeah, it's been a tough season for us. And it's where we're learning a lot, personally for me. It's very good to play with the top players of our country. But the result was not good for us, but it was a really good experience being in Hero ISL.

You assisted for the first time in the Hero ISL in the previous game. How do you plan to build on the learnings from this season going forward?

Gogoi: As I told you, I have learnt a lot of things on the field and off the field as well. And I know that I have to improve a lot. But still, it's a great experience for me and I learned a lot of things.

Related tags:

NorthEast United FC 2021-2022Match 104, SC East Bengal vs NorthEast United FC - 2021