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Kerala Blasters will face Jamshedpur FC at the JRD Tata Sports Complex Stadium in their eighth match of the 2022-23 Indian Super League (ISL) season on Sunday (December 4).
Kerala Blasters, who have not been in action since November 19, go into the game on the back of a three-match winning streak. They will be keen to take their winning run to four games and close the gap with table-toppers Mumbai City to six points. Jamshedpur, on the other hand, have lost four games on the trot and sit 10th in the table.
Kerala Blasters head coach Ivan Vukomanovic, though, is of the view that form amounts to nothing. Speaking ahead of the game, he told a press conference:
"In this league, we have seen that anybody can beat anybody. This is why this league is so interesting. Our opponents tomorrow are a very strong team, a very strong side."
"Every team in this league get bad momentum once a season. So, it doesn't mean anything. Before our three victories, we had a period of three defeats in a row. In this league, anything is possible."
The Serbian, who joined Kerala Blasters in June 2021, added:
"We know that both teams will be motivated to fight for the points. They are one opponent that we struggled against in the competition, in pre-season, and also in the semi-finals last season. I expect nothing but the same tomorrow. I expect to fight a good game. Let the better team win."
The Yellow Army play far away from home on Sunday but are still expected to receive a significant amount of support from traveling fans. Vukomanovic spoke highly of the Kerala Blasters faithful, as he has done on several occasions before:
"Last year, in the bubble, it was awful to play in that kind of environment [in empty stadiums]. Now, playing with the fans, of course, they are your 12th man, it's something that gives you extra motivation for any club, playing home or away, it's something special."
The Kerala Blasters head coach added:
"For the players, the moment you start shooting the ball around your house, you dream about playing in packed stadiums, you dream about playing in front of fans."
"Later, as a football player, whether you're playing home or away, it is always a pleasure and I enjoy every moment of it because we play football for the fans."
Vukomanovic also revealed that there are no injury concerns in the Kerala Blasters camp ahead of their match against Jamshedpur on Sunday:
"Everybody is available. We have had a good situation so far. We arrived here, let's say, with our strongest group. Everyone is available for tomorrow's game."
A two-week break meant that Vukomanovic and company had ample time to enjoy the first round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which saw a lot of twists and turns. The Kerala Blasters boss provided his thoughts on the tournament so far:
"This is the first time in the history of football that the World Cup is being held at this time of the year. It is also a kind of experiment from FIFA to see how it will evolve, maybe for the future."
"I was saying before the World Cup that many players will not be in top shape because it is part of the season when many top players playing in European clubs are exhausted after the Champions League [group stages], many of them are exhausted after competitive games."
Vukomanovic, who led Kerala Blasters to the ISL final last term, went on to explain how a lack of preparation time has affected a lot of teams in Qatar:
"They arrived in Qatar with only one week to prepare for the World Cup, changing environment, changing weather conditions, and all the other possible aspects. It affects your body, your metabolism, and your muscle structure. You need a period to adapt."
"That is why we see many of them not performing at the top level. That is why we see some of the top national teams going out. We've seen some other teams unexpectedly qualify because they're a little bit more motivated, a little bit eager to show the mentality to go through."
The Kerala Blasters boss insisted that he was not surprised to see all three teams that he was rooting for, including his homeland Serbia and Belgium, crash out of the World Cup:
"I think the decision to hold it now... okay, as an experiment, it was interesting for everybody. I said that there will be some surprises like Japan or South Korea or one African country, I said that in an interview a long time ago."
"I said that some big teams will go out. The two candidates I was cheering for, Belgium and Germany, are out. I'm from Serbia, they went out last night. There are big teams who will now take it seriously, like Brazil, even though they lost their last game, Spain, France... they will become strong now in the knockout phase."
The Kerala Blasters gaffer then explained that the placement of this year's World Cup in the middle of the club season has made the tournament 'strange':
"At this time of the year, as I said, many of them are exhausted. Before when you had the World Cup in June or July, you had five to six weeks to prepare. Now, it is only one week. It's strange because players come with their clubs' rhythm, immediately change everything and you have to play."
"It's not easy, but that's football. That is why we like football. Let's hope that we'll see good games in the knockout phase. Like I always say, let the better team win."
Vukomanovic then made a case for the likes of Croatia, the Netherlands, and England to go far in the tournament:
"The teams that have more experience playing the knockout phase, even if it's sometimes not nice football, but the teams with experience playing tournaments like Croatia, Holland, England, all these countries have experience of going through the knockout phase, facing certain opponents, and managing games. These teams always go through. It's quality and experience."
"I can learn a lot from Marko Leskovic" - Kerala Blasters defender Nishu Kumar
Vukomanovic was joined by Kerala Blasters full-back Nishu Kumar for the press conference. The defender has been pleased with how the team's season has played out so far. He said:
"Our season is going well so far. We went to Dubai for the pre-season, and we played some competitive games there. Overall, things are good so far. We have won our last three games, we are high on confidence now."
Nishu also previewed Kerala Blasters' upcoming game against Jamshedpur:
"Jamshedpur are a good team, they were the shield-winners last season. It will be a competitive game tomorrow. We're ready for it."
The former Bengaluru FC man went on to express his delight at the support he receives from everyone at Kerala Blasters:
"I can't really say I'm a young player anymore. I was a young player once. At most clubs now, youngsters are given due importance, which is very good for our future. Everybody supports us, whether it be the management or the coaching staff."
Nishu concluded by explaining that he has been able to learn a lot from the foreign players in the Kerala Blasters camp, especially fellow defenders Marko Leskovic and Victor Mongil:
"We're also able to learn a lot from the foreign players in the team. We have some good foreigners in our squad like [Adrian] Luna, Marko [Leskovic]... As a defender, I can learn a lot from Marko, as well as from Victor [Mongil]. Overall, it's a great experience for me to grow."
It is now only a matter of time before we find out if Kerala Blasters can take their winning streak in the ISL to four games with a victory over Jamshedpur.
