Odisha FC interim head coach Kino Garcia is wary of the challenging performances put up by SC East Bengal in the previous matches, as both the teams are set to cross paths in their Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 match at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco, Goa on Monday.

Odisha FC played out a 1-1 draw against FC Goa in the previous game, which was not the ideal result for a team seeking a top-four finish. However, with a misfiring SC East Bengal side up next on the list, a win should be the minimum target.

Interim head coach Garcia and goalkeeper Arshdeep Singh addressed the media in the pre-match press conference ahead of Monday’s game.

Here are the excerpts from the press conference:

The race for the semi-finals is getting intense day by day. What are your realistic expectations for the next six matches?

My expectation is winning the next match, which is my main objective and then winning the next one. We have a lot of points just to play, and we still have our chances (to qualify for the semi-finals). So for me now, and for the team, we are only focusing on winning tomorrow months

Jonathas de Jesus is enjoying a great goal scoring form, what are your thoughts about him?

He's working for that, he's training really hard, day-by-day he is getting fitter. And also he's adapting to what we want of him on the pitch. I think that he's enjoying these days with the players and with everybody, so we are really happy about that.

This fixture has produced a lot of goals, are you expecting the same or do you want to go with a solid defence?

If I could decide, I would prefer to win 1-0, which would be the best option and a clean sheet. For me, the most important is that the team is able to perform well and that we are able to win.

SC East Bengal are coming after securing a point against Chennaiyin FC, what are your thoughts regarding the opponents?

I think they improved after they changed the head coach. They improved a lot. I think that they are more solid. They are more compact. They are creating chances. We study  the teams to know which are the areas we can exploit, I think that they are improving. If you see, maybe they are not winning matches, but they are not losing, they are the team with the most draws in the league. We need to think that this is going to be a tough game.

Here are the excerpts from Arshdeep Singh's press conference:

How has it been training under goalkeeper coach Manu Patricio?

That's been amazing. He's a very good coach. He always pushes us, I think, uh, uh, because of him, me and Kamajit have both been good and I think he has helped us this season.

What are your personal goals for the season?

We want  to go to the semi-finals and obviously I want to be in the national team for personal goals.

What are your thoughts on the last game against FC Goa, which ended 1-1?

Obviously, it was a disappointing cause that it felt like a loss. We made a few mistakes, but that's what coaches are here for, we rectify mistakes and we go again from the next match we meet to think about the last match. But, we go to the next match with a hundred percent mentality of winning.