ISL 2017/18: David James hints at dropping Kizito Keziron from Kerala Blasters squad

Kerala Blasters head coach David James isn't worried about midfielder Kizito Keziron's injury as he said that the team is not dependant on one player but at the same time he was ready to give Kizito time to recover and not replace him immediately. James said, "The transfer window is still open and if Kizito is not available for selection for a long time we will look at our option to bring in a player to replace him."

It must be noted that Keziron had suffered a shoulder injury and he is most likely to miss the rest of the tournament.

When asked about the rumours regarding East Bengal defender Gurwinder Singh's possibilities of joining the club, James replied, "I have been looking at players' videos from the day I took charge and bringing in an Indian player is an option for us but not necessarily the same player you mentioned."

Kerala ended up on the winning side against the Delhi Dynamos on Saturday as an inspiring second-half performance by debutant Deependra Negi turned the match in their favour. Delhi Dynamos got the lead in the first half with a penalty conceded for a foul on Lallianzuala Chhangte. David James introduced Negi and the new signing Gudjon Baldvinsson early on in the second half which were clearly game-changing substitutions. Negi scored the equaliser from a corner in the 48th minute and contributed to the second goal by earning a spot kick which was converted by Hume.

After the game, James said he was happy with the performance of the team. He said, "What we saw today was a good performance by our players. They were not ready to give away the game."

Kerala Blasters had played four games in 11 days and concerns were raised on the fitness of the players, but James was happy that the players were pushing their limits to fight for a victory.

Kerala Blasters had to make some last minute changes in the formation as some of the players were not available for selection. James was not surprised by Negi's performance after he had some incredible training sessions. James said, "I didn't know much about Negi when I came here, but he impressed us on the training ground which won him a place in the team".

James joked that the young players who are impressing him in the training will give him a headache when he gets down to select the team which would face FC Pune City. James added, "Every player in the team has equal opportunity regardless of their nationality and age."