"I can't blame just the defenders" - Odisha FC boss Kino Garcia on his side's defensive record in ISL 2021-22

Odisha FC manager Kino Garcia believes he and the entire team have to shoulder responsibility for their poor defensive record in the ongoing ISL season.

The Juggernauts have conceded 33 goals in 16 matches this season, the joint second-highest in the league. Only bottom-placed NorthEast United have conceded more (38).

However, Garcia feels the defense alone isn't responsible for that figure. Speaking ahead of Odisha FC's clash against Chennaiyin FC tomorrow (February 16), he said:

"It's not the defense alone; our goal is teamwork. The whole team needs to improve in some aspects so I can't blame just the defenders. It starts from me and the staff to work more and adjust things. We have also changed the head coach in the middle of the season."

The Spanish tactician added that they were slowly improving their defending, particularly from set-pieces:

"We are improving on how many goals we're conceding from set-pieces. We just need to work more, work harder and be more focused."

Garcia was also questioned about his thoughts on the defeat against Mumbai City FC in their last game. The Juggernauts were hammered 4-1 by the Islanders on Sunday (February 13). However, he believes the result was a little harsh on his team. Garcia said:

"It was a tough loss as we conceded four goals. But we don't have time to think about that, we play tomorrow. We need to improve things but the result was too hard because we didn't play that bad. We will try to focus on the good things and try to fix things that weren't working."

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"Not good for the competition" - Odisha FC boss Garcia laments disparity in rest days

The Odisha FC boss also expressed his displeasure regarding the disparity in rest days between matches for different ISL teams. Their next opponents, Chennaiyin FC, haven't played since February 9 while the Juggernauts enter this game after just a two-day gap. He said:

"It's not good for the competition that some teams have 5-6 days (of rest) while others have just two. I think it's not fair but we are here to compete, we have enough players, we have good players and we can use fresh legs. Training was more focused on recovery, passing patterns, set-pieces and on Chennaiyin."

Garcia added that he expected a tough contest and believes the Marina Machans could benefit from having a new manager. Chennaiyin FC notably parted ways with Bozidar Bandovic after receiving a 5-0 thrashing from FC Goa in their last game. Garcia stated:

"It's going to be a difficult game for both. We come in after a big loss and they have changed their coach. We expect some changes in the system and certainly when a new coach arrives, the mood changes. Both teams need to win and they're going to make it a good match tomorrow."

The Odisha FC boss went on to say:

"After a big loss, the mood may be down but they have changed their coach and every player wants to be in the XI and will be motivated with the new coach. That will give them energy and they've also had more rest days than us. They will be prepared but we can beat them."

Garcia also revealed that he has a full squad to select from for this game, with no major injury concerns.