FC Pune City travel to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Thursday to take on Kerala Blasters FC in Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18. The Stallions have garnered maximum points from their travels so far, and come on the back of two successive wins. However, they would be wary of the fact that they have never won in Kochi in the league’s history, a record they would want to do away with.

With Ranko Popovic still serving his touchline suspension, speaking to the media during the pre-match press conference was Pune’s assistant coach, Vladica Grujic. He began by acknowledging the Stallions’ mindset. “We work every day,” Grujic stated. “Day by day things are getting better and better. I think, during the game this team does not need a coach. We want to play a strong game tomorrow to win. Popovic is very important for the team, and the team knows what he wants and what we want and these are very important things.”

He also went on to laud the two Pune goalkeepers, Vishal Kaith and Kamaljit Singh. “Vishal (Kaith) and Kamaljit (Singh) are two very, very good goalkeepers,” the Serbian said. “Vishal improved with every game. This is very important as with a goalkeeper like that, the team is stronger. We expect good performance tomorrow from everyone. We are coming here not for a vacation, we’re coming here to win something.”

Before leaving, Grujic also threw light on how they were assessing their opponents of the night. “Kerala are a little bit unlucky,” he opined. “I watch every game and I see a really strong team. I expect Kerala to play with long balls tomorrow and then try to win the second ball. I think they cannot change their style in one day. I expect a very strong opponent. We must be stronger and win.”