Reigning champions ATK travel to Guwahati to lock horns with NorthEast United FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium on Friday in Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18. The Highlanders will be high on confidence having brought an end to their four-match losing streak with a 2-1 win against FC Goa in their previous encounter. The visitors, on the other hand, enter the match on the back of a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Bengaluru FC in their last match.

Present from the hosts’ end to speak to the media at the pre-match press conference was their new assistant coach Eelco Schattorie. He was asked how his team was preparing for the ATK battle, now that their talisman Robbie Keane was out due to injury. “For me, I always focus on my own team,” he began. “Whatever the other team is in, those situations I don’t control. I won’t comment on whether I’m happy or not happy. I just concentrate on my team because that’s the most important thing. We try to get out of the situation we’re in. We need to focus on our team, be together, work together and whatever we can get we will take.”

The Dutchman also shared his views on what the Highlanders need to change to bring some semblance to their current campaign. “I think we need to improve a lot. I’m a coach but I’m speaking from my own perspective. Normally, to implement attacking football, you have to do that in pre-season. You see teams like Goa, like Bengaluru, to reach that level. It is more difficult to reach that level at this stage. At the moment, we have a decent organization, we hope to build a good team from there,” he explained.

Schattorie further added, “There are two things for sure. Before the last coach went out, the team lost 5-0. That means we have to bring the team together. Last week, everyone was working very hard. They had the intention to help each other. The defensive organization is of prime importance, doesn’t matter who you play. Secondly, we didn’t score too many goals. That’s an area to improve but at the same time, it’s the most difficult part. It depends on quality, how many players you have, who can make a difference. It’s not something we train today and go score goals tomorrow.”

Before leaving, he also told the journalists what he makes of the Hero ISL and the overall impact it’s made on Indian football. “First of all, I think it’s a good thing that the ISL is a little more spread out. As in, no games every two-three days. The format is better. And of course, the level of the foreigners in the teams will bring up the level. There’s definitely a difference in quality but in my opinion, the format is a little bit better for the players,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, present from the visitors’ end was their assistant coach Bastab Roy, who informed the media that their star player Keane was not travelling with the team due to injury. He also informed that India’s FIFA U-17 World Cup star Komal Thatal was practising with the team but that “the coach will decide” when he gets to play.
When asked how the Kolkata outfit is gearing up to face the Highlanders who will be playing under Avram Grant, he said, “Planning is variable. The situation is such that it’s a must-win game for us as well as NorthEast. We’re struggling in the league table, so it’s anybody’s game at the moment.”

Roy also stated that the “table is very unpredictable. If we win two or three games in a row, we can achieve it. It’s a do or die game for us, we played some very good matches except against Pune. Luck was not with us. In the last match, we lost against Bengaluru and that made a big difference. We missed chances. It happens. We are not looking back. We look forward and try to win this match. We can only do hard work, that’s in our hands.”