"It's not finished" - Kerala Blasters boss Ivan Vukomanovic plays down expectations despite going top of ISL table

Kerala Blasters head coach Ivan Vukomanovic believes his side need to stay grounded despite moving to the top of the ISL table. Vukomanovic stressed on this during a virtual press conference ahead of his side's match against Mumbai City FC.

When asked about managing expectations and not letting them affect the team, the Tuskers boss reflected on his personal experience and said:

"I have to be honest. As a former player, I won titles in several countries at different clubs. The moment you start being relaxed and getting the euphoria as a team, you crumble. Everything is destroyed. As a team you have to concentrate if you want to continue winning games."

Vukomanovic went on to add:

"The moment you think you are the best in the world and top of the table, you are finished, history. Reaching the top of one league can be much easier than staying on top. From our side, we want to stay concentrated because in this league, nobody will offer us anything - we have to fight for it. The only way to do that is staying together and focus."

He also said:

"It's not finished. We are only halfway, we still have games, we don't know if we'll play those games or not."

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"We will see bad football and injuries" - Kerala Blasters' Vukomanovic on the impact of COVID cases

The ISL has been hit by COVID-19, with multiple clubs reporting a cluster of cases in recent times. The Kerala Blasters have also been affected and haven't trained in four days ahead of their encounter against the Islanders.

When asked what the repercussions of such a gap are likely to be, Vukomanovic said:

"What we will see is bad football, bad game and nothing but injuries. It concerns everybody a lot. Hope that everybody will stay safe and healthy and I'm very confident in the people from the ISL as they have everything under control."

He added that the rise in cases within the ISL bubble will inevitably shift the focus away from football, stating:

"It's obviously not easy seeing these circumstances, not only in our club but I think nine clubs. Nobody's talking anymore about football because everybody's concerned. We have families, wives, children - you have a feeling like the virus is passing to each other like a chain process."

Vukomanovic was also asked if he would prefer for the match against Mumbai City FC to be postponed due to the prevailing conditions. The Kerala Blasters head coach responded:

"No, I don't look at it [postponement] as an option. If we speak about football from a physical side, it's not easy for the players without training to play the game. The effort exhausts you and in one moment, the muscle is injured."

He went on to elaborate on what an injury at this stage of the season could mean for the players, adding:

"At this stage, if you get injured, it'll be for 6-7 weeks. That means for you, ISL is done, finished. It means you may not be able to play until the next season. It's weird now in this situation but we are confident in our medical stuff and the federation. We are grateful for these things."

As things stand, the Kerala Blasters will take on Des Buckingham's Islanders side at the Tilak Maidan tomorrow (16 January). The Tuskers came out on top in the reverse fixture, winning by a comprehensive 3-0 margin.