A smiling David James was upbeat ahead of his side’s clash against FC Goa at the pre-match press conference at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda. Acknowledging his team’s indifferent start to the campaign, the player-manager noted that his side’s pre-season wasn’t as challenging as he would have liked. “Our pre-season wasn’t very challenging, with all due respect to the teams we played. The quality and opposition in the Indian Super League is different. The teams in the ISL are much better. The squad, after having played games together, is working now and hence the results are better,” the former Liverpool goalkeeper noted.Charismatic English striker Michael Chopra, who has been out with injury is back in the squad. James said that a few of his players were carrying niggles and a late fitness test would determine whether they would be eligible to play on Wednesday, although he was careful not to divulge too much team information. The 6’ 4” goalkeeper also praised coach Trevor Morgan, who has taken up managerial duties from the sidelines while James mans his position between the posts.Crediting the opposition on their good form, James said, “Goa have turned it around in the latter part of the tournament. If they win tomorrow, they will leapfrog us on goal difference. It’s taken them a while to get going, like it did for us as well. We’re going to be respecting Goa’s form but we will be playing solely for a win.” His side managed to beat Goa in the previous round at Kochi and James hoped his side could repeat the feat. “It was a tough game last time around. We’ve played sides who don’t want to get beat and hence sit back to defend. Credit to Goa as they came out all guns blazing. I expect them to come out looking for the win this time too. Hopefully this match will have a lot of end to end action and I’m hoping this guy here (Milagres Gonsalves) scores again,” James said.The Kerala manager has been impressed with the standard of goalkeeping in the tournament so far. “The goalkeeping has been fantastic. At the start of the competition, no one knew what to expect. Teams did not know what to expect from one another. But now after a few matches, teams have got a hang of one another and hence the quality of matches has improved,” he remarked.Also giving his thoughts on goal-line technology, following Luis García’s goal against Kerala in their previous game being disallowed James said, “I’ve said from the start and I firmly believe that goal-line technology is essential. Sometimes a goal sored or not scored can make a massive difference to the end result of a tournament. Against Atlético de Kolkata, I stand by the fact that it was not a goal from an on-field point of view. Had there been goal-line technology, the right decision could have been made.”Striker Milagres Gonsalves, who was also present with his manager said that it wouldn’t be very difficult to play in front of his home crowd. “I am going to enjoy playing in front of my home crowd. I have been training hard and will look to win every match with my team,” he averred.
