"Last season, we were keen on bringing Roy Krishna" - Hyderabad FC coach Thangboi Singto lauds Odisha FC striker ahead of match | ISL 2023-24

Hyderabad FC will take on Odisha FC in an Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Maidaan in Gachibowli on Monday.

While the Nawabs were comprehensively beaten by FC Goa at home in their previous game, the Juggernauts will head into the match on the back of a 2-1 win over Kerala Blasters in Bhubaneswar.

At the moment, Hyderabad FC continue to languish at the bottom of the league table with just four points to their name while Odisha FC are in the second position with 27 points.

Hyderabad FC head coach Thangboi Singto spoke to the media ahead of the game and mentioned why his side, despite being filled with inexperienced youngsters, is not afraid of Odisha.

"Frankly speaking, we will have had one day more than them to prepare. The focus is on recovery. We have a young squad at the moment but a combination of seniors and youngsters is what is important. Recovery is very important for us, and that is what we have worked on," Singto explained.

"Last season, we were keen on bringing Roy Krishna when we were talking about strikers, but there were suggestions from other quarters that maybe he is out of his prime, maybe he is old, maybe he does not have legs anymore, but look at what he has done. But saying that, we are not afraid of Odisha FC," he added.

“If you ask me which are the best teams in the ISL, I think at the moment Odisha FC are one of them" - Thangboi Singto

Singto was all praise for the young boys who came on and put up a stellar show against FC Goa in the Nawabs' previous game.

Although they lost 0-2, a lot of these youngsters, including Joseph Sunny, Abhijith PA, Lalchhanhima Sailo, and others impressed on their ISL debuts and showcased that they are ready to compete at the highest level.

Some of these youngsters were handpicked by Singto himself when he was the technical director of the club, and it gladdened him immensely to see them do well.

"In the last game, when the young boys came on, they did extremely well. I know that some of them are not ready yet, but they tried their best to follow instructions. They stuck to the team tactics that we taught them. Odisha and going ahead we have Mohun Bagan-these are some really tough games," said Singto.

However, the 49-year-old ended on a note of caution when he said that Odisha FC are one of the best teams in the ISL at the moment and that his team needs to be at their best to take them on.

“If you ask me which are the best teams in the ISL, I think at the moment Odisha FC are one of them. They have one of the best Indian goalkeepers (Amrinder Singh). They have two of the best centre-backs in ISL, that is (Mourtada) Fall and Carlos Delgado. (Ahmed) Jahouh, one of the best midfielders and two of the most prominent, lethal, and clinical strikers at the moment, that is Diego (Mauricio) and Roy Krishna,” he concluded.