Bengaluru FC head coach Marco Pezzaiuoli feels his team has to be more organised and work better off the ball as they go up against Jamshedpur FC in match 36 of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 at Athletic Stadium, Bambolim on Monday.

Bengaluru FC are placed tenth in the league table with five points in seven matches. The Blues won their first match against NorthEast United FC but have struggled to conjure points since then. They have had four defeats and two draws in the rest of the games.

Bengaluru FC drew 3-3 against ATK Mohun Bagan in the last match. It was an evenly contested match with both sides fairly equal in terms of ball possession and shots at goal.

Ahead of Bengaluru FC’s match against Jamshedpur FC, coach Pezzaiuoli addressed the media during the official pre-match press conference.

Here are the excerpts from the press conference.

Given the attacking threats Jamshedpur FC poses, how important is it for the defenders to step up their game?

We need to defend better against JFC. It’s not about defending by the defenders, it’s about defending as a team. They have a strong striker so we need to protect the box. Our defence starts from our striker. We need to keep everyone focused and defend as a team.

Coming from a draw against ATKMB, how do you look at the upcoming match?

It was a good result. We did well offensively. The mentality and the team spirit was good. We need to improve our work of the ball and get more organised. I think we did well to come back twice in the game. We had put some young players in the starting lineup who also did good.

How do you assess Ashique (Kuruniyan)’s performance? Do you think the team played better with him upfront?

It depends on which players are available. Now that Roshan is out we have to adjust accordingly. It was a good performance by him. He created chances and did the defensive work. He is coming back step by step but he still has some way to go so we have to be patient.

Sunil Chhetri came off the bench in the last game, will we see the same more often?

No, it was a tactical decision. I wanted two left footed players upfront for the game. But when Sunil came on he worked hard. He helped the team a lot in our defensive play.