North East United FC head coach Vincenzo Annese reiterated that they have to focus on improving themselves after losing out to Hyderabad FC in a 6-1 encounter in matchweek 13 of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) at the G.M.C Balayogi Athletic Stadium, in Hyderabad, on Thursday.

The home side started bright and got the 2-goal cushion at half time. The second half was full of Hyderabad FC as they added three more to their goal tally to conclude the match with a comfortable victory and regain the top spot in the league table.

Annese spoke about the impact of fatigue on their players as they played two back-to-back games within a span of five days. It was evident as the home side was quick to attack all the rebounds and second balls. The head coach also said that they were aware of Hyderabad FC's lethal attack but his side failed to prevent it as they conceded three goals from the set pieces.

"I have very little to say. Our performance is bad. We were a bit tired as we needed to come back from the last game (in a short time), we know that Hyderabad FC was so good in set pieces, corner kicks, and in free kicks. So, we need to be aware of this and we need to improve more, as always," said Annese in the official post-match press conference.

Full-time. #HFCNEU #NEUFC #StrongerAsOne #8States1United pic.twitter.com/9Dq7hjcvDM

— NorthEast United FC (@NEUtdFC) December 29, 2022

Despite going 3-0 down at the half an hour mark, the Highlanders kept on pushing and got one goal back. On the other hand, this tactic gave more space for Hyderabad FC to exploit. The head coach said that it was his game plan to fight for every ball in the game and the players executed what he wanted.

"We fight for each ball. All the time, we tried to create some action to score. This is my career and this is my belief, and this is what the guys tried to do," he added.

The Highlanders are up against Bengaluru FC at their home turf in Guwahati, on January 6th. The Italian believes that the week-long break will help them to work on their mistakes and bounce back in the new year with renewed energy.

"We have more time, we need to focus on ourselves, on our mistakes and improve that. This result can be only the past and try to win the next game," he concluded.