Kerala Blasters FC will be on the lookout for their first victory of the new year when they play league leaders Bengaluru FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The Blasters have endured a poor campaign having won just one match so far. However, new head coach Nelo Vingada is confident about his side's chances of registering a win against Bengaluru.

At the pre-match press conference, the Portuguese spoke at length on what to expect from his team on Wednesday. “To be honest, for me the next match is always the most important and the most difficult. The past is done. I have to know what was wrong to become better with each game. The most important thing now is to recover the confidence. The performance against ATK was good. The second game against Delhi looked like we went two steps back. We need to recover the positive attitude and try to enjoy the game and fight. We need to find the best balance because in the second game our balance was not so good,” Vingada said.

Despite being virtually out of contention for a spot in the play-offs, Vingada assured the media that his players would play with pride against Bengaluru. “We are not playing as a group of friends. We are playing with the symbol of Kerala Blasters in our hearts, so we have to play with a lot of pride. When you are involved in a professional situation, you have to feel pride for playing for your team. Dignity is something you cannot lose. I want to bring a positive spirit to the team,” he remarked.

Vingada also spoke about a few injury concerns in his squad but he was confident that the players would recover quickly. “Two of my players suffered during the game against Delhi. One of my other players is sick. One change will be made for sure. The level of ISL is going up, so we cannot play with players who are at 60% or 70%. But I am very optimistic that some of them can recover,” he stated.

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