ISL: Will be difficult to beat 'compact team' Kerala Blasters, says East Bengal coach

SC East Bengal coach Jose Manuel Diaz has admitted that it will be difficult to beat Kerala Blasters when the two sides meet in the Indian Super League (ISL) on Sunday.

At the bottom of the table with no wins, SC East Bengal will try and turn the tide against Kerala Blasters however, coach Diaz is well aware of their opponents.

"Kerala Blasters have a compact team and hard-working players, and it will be difficult to beat them. It will be a complicated match," Diaz said ahead of the match as per the SCEB website.

The veteran coach stressed the need to put games to bed when the opportunity arises. "We have played 5 matches till now, and in most of them, we failed to convert our chances and win when the opportunity arose. This needs to be addressed. We are also focusing on enhancing our level and decision-making process with every match."

Asked if the fitness of the players is one of the reasons for this poor string of results, the Spaniard said, "It's not only about the fitness, the technical and tactical parts also matter and we have not been up to the mark in each one of them."

Although there's no addition to the list of injuries in the SC East Bengal camp, the side will be without captain Arindam Bhattacharya in this match too, as he is yet to recover from the injury he suffered during the side's second ISL match of the season against ATK Mohun Bagan.

( With inputs from ANI )