ISL 2019/20: Kerala Blasters head coach Eelco Schattorie asks his players to be more street smart

Kerala Blasters are set to face Jamshedpur FC in their eighth game of the Indian Super League season, at Kochi on Friday evening. The side managed by Eelco Schattorie have been struggling since their opening game against ATK in October. Blasters haven't won a single game since then and have played out three draws and three defeats.

Speaking in the pre-match press conference, the Dutch manager addressed the issues that his team has been facing from the beginning of the season. The Kochi-based club has put themselves into trouble conceding some late goals. When asked about the solution to that, the gaffer quipped,

"That all has to do with qualities you have in a team. I keep on repeating on the first and last minutes of each half and set-pieces. There has to be a mindset the moment these minutes kick in. Last year we had the set-pieces record defensively. This year there is something we can do in a mismatch. Last week we had some mismatches. We have to find solutions and in this case, I ask my players to be a bit smarter, meaner, have some street smartness."

Schattorie highlighted the importance of leadership within the team on the field. He opined, that has a crucial role in making quick adjustments on the field.

"We do everything we can to organize. But you also need some leadership. A player needs to take a quick picture of a situation and react accordingly. When you have one or two players with experience in the team they can make quick adjustments. So it depends on the players you have in the team."

Mario Arques has been sidelined from the very beginning of the season. The former Jamshedpur FC player has only played a few minutes this season. Though the managed stated that the player is now fit, he does not assure to change the game drastically by the introduction of the central midfielder.

"Mario is fit now. No player having an injury that long, the process, the protocol is that you play at least two or three games, gradually increasing in time. But we don't have that infrastructure. Mario is fit, but not fully. So either he is going to play tomorrow or not, I will make that decision. Its a very difficult situation to work with becuase to be honest I'm more a long-term thinking coach."

Kerala Blasters have had a long list of players out injured. The coach was forced to start with most of his first-choice players out of the squad. From Sandesh Jhingan to Bartholomew Ogbeche, key members of the squad have missed games with concerns. Schattorie said the missed pre-season had a big role in players' poor fitness. The 47-year old felt the side couldn't execute the plans due to the broken pre-season.

"The injury issues has two reasons - First one is that if you go on a pre-season normally you plan the pre-season at a minimum of six to eight weeks. We plan where to play the games and around those games you plan conditioning sessions. So you work backwards. Because the pre-season got cancelled, that was not the club's mistake, we had to come back and we still had to start planning the games. That makes it very diffcult, that part played a big issue. The other part is something within the club."

Eelco Schattorie, however, signed off with positive hopes and stated the side have progressed and always be improved.