Still winless having played five matches in the eighth edition of Indian Super League (ISL), SC East Bengal will be desperate to register their first victory of the season as they lock horns with Kerala Blasters FC at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco on Sunday.

SC East Bengal coach Jose Manuel Diaz knows they have to improve a lot on the pitch to log full points against Blasters. “We have to improve our level in every practice, and improve our decision-making process every match. 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 every match,” Diaz said.

“We have no new injury worries… It’s only Jackichand Singh and Darren Sidoel as of now. Jackichand has been improving but is not in a state to complete a whole practice session. Sidoel is out with a hamstring injury and we must be cautious about these injuries,” the coach informed.

Asked if the fitness of the players is one of the reasons for the 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.”

He also provided insights into the mood of the dressing room. “When we play well and yet don’t win, the mood in the dressing room becomes a little sombre. In most of the matches that we played, we have done good things and were in contention to win or secure a point till the end, so the boys draw a lot of positives from that.”

Kerala Blasters, who were themselves without a win in their first three matches of the season, bounced back in the previous match to narrowly edge past Odisha FC. Blasters have collected five points so far and bottom placed SC East Bengal have three points less in their kitty then their opponents.

The SC East Bengal fans have been left understandably frustrated at the performance of the team this season and that is playing on the coach’s mind as well. “We understand the feelings and frustration of the supporters regarding the team. We know the difficult situation we are in, and we are thirsty too. We want to keep going and keep improving our level to bring back the smile to our supporters’ faces,” Diaz said.