The first Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 match of 2018 kicks off with ATK welcoming FC Goa at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Wednesday. Back-to-back victories in their last two encounters are sure to give the defending champions enough confidence against a formidable FC Goa side, who head into the game on the back of a 2-0 defeat.

Present for the hosts at the pre-match press conference was their head coach Teddy Sheringham, who was quick to appreciate Goa’s imposing team. “I have been very impressed with them,” he began. “They have very good foreign players and one or two very good Indian players, as well. Again, like every other game we play in the ISL, we are going to have to be at our very best to beat them. They are a very dangerous team.”

When asked if the defending champions were looking to make certain changes to their tactics in the new year in an effort to improve their league standings, the 51-year old revealed, “I hope so. We have only played six games as compared to some others who have played eight. So, it looks worse than what it is. In England, you all play the same amount of games each weekend so you know exactly where you stand. We are only a few points behind. We are only seventh. I had said before the last two games that we want to rectify that. We did very well in our last two games and I hope that continues. But I know as well as any other football person that it just doesn’t happen like that. You have to earn the right to win these games and get points on the table because they are very hard to come by in any league.“

He further continued, “I certainly hope (the team has got back into the groove) but you can never tell in football. Things change very quickly. I said before that when you win football matches you can’t think of losing and when you lose you can’t think of winning. So, it’s a strange feeling in the camp but we have to be on our guard and make sure we keep performing and keep the winning run up.”

ATK have got back a lot of their wayward composure after Robbie Keane’s return from injury, and the Englishman was not short of praises for the Irish legend. “He’s a fantastic player and a world-renowned footballer. Every day he does something in training that’s special. That is why I asked him to come. He is an important part of our team and I am sure we would be a different team if he wasn’t a part of our team. But I don’t want to envisage that,” he concluded.