Chennaiyin FC head coach Bozidar Baddovic called for improvements in their transitional game and urged his team to come out on top in duels ahead of their Hero Indian Super League (ISL) match against NorthEast United FC at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in Margao, on Monday.

The Marina Machans narrowly edged past Hyderabad FC in their opening game by virtue of a solitary goal but looked quite shaky throughout. Bandovic, ahead of their upcoming game, threw light on the areas where they need improvements.

The Montenegrin manager addressed the media during the pre-match press conference in the build-up to the Hyderabad FC game.

Here are the excerpts from the press conference:

You were not happy with the Chennaiyin FC attack in the first game, so, has there been change in the training regime or plans to improve in the attack?

Bandovic: First of all, like I said, we lost many balls. And, my players showed me during preparation and in the practice matches that we can do it (keep the ball more) and it’s a matter of time we do it. Because we have quality and we can keep the ball more and I know we can do it, but, of course you need to understand this was the first game after many months, this is one thing.

Another thing, my players, what I see and what I believe, they had a big desire to win the game. But they did lose concentration sometimes. Of course, for us, it is important to keep the ball and I believe that in the next game, we’ll do much better.

Question: What are the areas you think the team needs to improve?

Bandovic: We need to improve in the attacking, the moment we win the ball. We made 57 interceptions, at that moment we need to keep the ball and organise the attack and make the counter attacks. So, we need to be stronger in the duels, because the percentage of our duels are very low, if we consider our friendly games, and also winning the second ball. Yes, the opponents did have some chances but they did not make it through combination play, but in the way we gave them. I want my team to show some character, showing big desire and I know the next game will be better.

Question: Rafael Crivellaro is out for about four weeks? How big is it a loss and how important (Vladimir) Koman will be, since he plays in the same position.

Bandovic: Rafael is an important player, a good player. Now, he is injured and we now need to concentrate on the players that are ready to play. All of the players are ready except him, and we need to help him to recover as fast as he can. As I have said before, a team does not depend on one player and it is the same for my team.

We need to keep working without him. Yes, we need everybody healthy, so that I can have as many options for the game. But now, we need to do it without him. Koman’s role is important, Thapa (Anirudh)’s role is important, Ariel (Borysiuk) is important, Edwin (Venspaul), all the players from the start or even from the bench are important and they know what to do.

Ukrainian midfielder Vladimir Koman, who scored the winner from the spot in the previous game, was present at the press conference and also addressed the media. Here are the excerpts from his press conference.

Question: How was it to score in the Hero ISL and what are your personal aims this season?

Koman: My personal target is to be better with the team, so the team is always in first place for me. I was very happy that the team won the game, especially with the penalty goal. But, it's not important (the goal) for me. For me, the first target always is to make good results with the team, because if you make results, it’s good for everybody.

Question: What sort of confidence has the win over Chennaiyin FC given to the players?

Koman: We started with confidence, but the overdesire disturbed us a little bit. So, I believe that in the second we are going to improve and we’ll go with confidence, because I saw my team in the friendly games, and I know what we can do. Of course we respect our  opponents, but we know what to do on the field, so I really hope in the future, we are going to show the real quality of what we have.