ISL: “They’re one of the favourites to reach playoffs…”: Odisha FC coach Sergio ahead of Punjab FC match

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], April 2 (ANI): Odisha FC head coach Sergio Lobera is expecting a difficult game against Punjab FC as they face the Shers in the Indian Super League (ISL) match in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.

The Kalinga Warriors were handed a boost in the race for the League Shield with Mohun Bagan SG losing to Chennaiyin FC but Lobera’s men need to win all their remaining matches to have a chance of making the playoffs. They are in the third position on the points table with 10 wins, six draws and three losses, giving them 36 points.

Punjab FC find themselves in a similar situation where they have a chance to qualify for the playoffs in their very first season. They are in the eighth spot on the table, with five wins, six draws and eight losses, giving them 21 points.

Lobera thus expects a difficult match for his team against Staikos Vergetis’ side who have found form lately.

“Punjab FC are a very good team. It is not easy to adapt to ISL in the first year. They had some problems at the start but now they are competing very well,” he said as quoted by an ISL press release.

“They are one of the favourites to reach the playoffs. It will be a difficult game against them.”

“We need to be loyal to our style of play. We need to operate as a team as we are working very well as a unit. We need to focus on ourselves. Every match is different, every situation is different. Every team is playing all remaining games as a final as each team is playing for something,” he continued.

Lobera heaped praise on his players for giving the team a chance to compete for silverware in multiple competitions and is looking forward to the final part of the season.

“We are very excited for the final three games. We have a chance to fight for everything. We need to focus on these games,” he said.

“The players have done an amazing job (so far). It has been a very difficult season playing in all three competitions,” he added.

The Kalinga Warriors will be eyeing nothing less than three points against Punjab FC in what will be their final home game of the league stage this season. Odisha FC have been unbeaten at home this season winning seven out of the ten games so far at the venue. Lobera thanked the fans for their support during the season.

“To play in Bhubaneswar is something special. When we play here we feel the support of our fans which is very important to us,” the Spaniard said.

“We want to finish the competition here by winning games. We are sure that the fans will be here in the most important period of the season, pushing us to get three important points against Punjab FC. Loyalty is important and not the number and I think we have loyal fans,” he added.

The Bhubaneswar-based side have scored just one goal in their last four matches in all competitions but Lobera is not too concerned by the statistic.

“We are scoring a lot of goals with a good goal difference in the league,” he said.

“My biggest concern as a coach is whether we are creating chances. We created plenty of chances in the last game. We need to be more clinical. We keep the ball and dominate the games in the last few phases but finally, we need to be more clinical,” he added.