Delhi Dynamos FC head coach Harm van Veldhoven.Delhi Dynamos FC head coach Harm van Veldhoven stressed on the need to stick together and pick up points ahead of his side’s clash with NorthEast United FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium on Monday. “India is a large country and now we are here to play NorthEast United after a long journey. We know that it is such an important game for us. We want to take all three points out of this game. It is important that we do not lose faith in ourselves and push on,” van Veldhoven said at the pre-match press conference.The visitors are at the bottom of the table and the Dutch gaffer emphasised the need to go on a winning streak to redress the situation: “We have seen how FC Pune City were in a similar position about a month ago. They won their next few games and are now in a good spot. I can also point to FC Goa’s mini run which illustrates the same point. The gap between the top placed and bottom placed teams is not much. A couple of wins could see us in contention for the top four.”When asked the reason for the large number of goalless draws that have been the hallmark of the tournament of late, van Veldhoven explained, “I think it’s because of the schedule. We are playing games back to back. Sometimes, an important member of your squad gets injured and it breaks the momentum. This can make your team disjointed and you lose your fluidity.”Delhi’s marquee man Alsessandro Del Piero stated that he was looking forward to the duel with Miguel Garcia and Joan Capdevila. “This match will throw up a lot of interesting battles. These two have been a solid defensive pair. It will be interesting facing them,” the Italian legend remarked.Shylo Maltswamtluanga, Delhi’s diminutive midfielder accepted that the crowd would be solidly behind the home team but hoped that his Mizo origin would fetch some support. “I hope to have some NorthEast United fans backing us. It will be good if they remember me,” he said with a smile.
