Hyderabad FC’s next encounter in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 will be against Odisha FC at the G.M.C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium on Wednesday. The Telangana-based outfit have won just once in 12 attempts so far, leading to the departure of former head coach, Phil Brown. Albert Roca, who has previously coached Bengaluru FC in the Hero ISL, has been roped in as Brown’s replacement, starting from next season.

Former Hero ISL champion with Chennaiyin FC and current Hyderabad assistant coach Mehrajuddin Wadoo was present at the pre-match press conference for his team and he began by stressing how difficult it has been for his side of late. “I think this is a difficult part of the season. The way this season has been so far, it has been unfortunate. It’s been the same for all the players, the staff, the management and for the supporters. The players realize how it is.”

“The next six games, all the players are going to play for pride, the prestige. They know they are not going to make it to the semi-finals. I think they will try and work hard. They are professionals. They want to give their best. There were times when they were really close to the win. But unfortunately, they could not. Hopefully, they go out against Odisha and turn things around,” said Wadoo.

He then looked ahead at the coming match against Odisha and stated, “Every game is different. In the last game, the team tried its best. Sometimes even the greatest managers don’t get what they deserve. It’s very difficult for the players when the manager leaves in the middle of the season. From the past two days, I’m training them, and they have been fantastic. In the next games, which are very important in terms of prestige and pride, the focus will be on the positives and making sure that every player gives their best.”

Midfielder Adil Khan was also present at the media briefing, and the India international had nothing but positive thoughts when talking about his former coach Brown. “(The mood in the dressing room is) not good because he was a good man. As a coach, he was a good person as well. We used to follow him, whatever decisions he used to take. In football, if you don’t get results for the club, it’s a very hard decision for the club to take. The team is looking forward to winning the Odisha match and changing the entire mood inside the dressing room. So, let’s see how it goes.”

“We are just looking to win as many matches as we can and get ourselves out of the bottom of the table. It will be a positive move for us for next season. It will give us confidence to go ahead for next season,” insisted Adil.

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