Cesar Ferrando Jamshedpur FC ISL 5

ISL 2018-19: Cesar Ferrando - At this moment Pune City is a very good team

The pressure will be on Jamshedpur FC when they have take on FC Pune City at the JRD Tata Sports Complex on Saturday.

Cesar Ferrando’s men are currently in fifth spot in the Indian Super League (ISL) table with three games remaining and anything other that a victory against Pune will be a big dent to their playoff hopes.

However, Ferrando remains wary of the threat posed by Pune who beat his side 2-1 in the reverse fixture and are on a good run currently.

“I think at this moment Pune is a good team. I think in their last four matches they won three and drew one. They are playing very well and we will need to be focused in defence. They have players like Marcelinho and Robin Singh who are in good form. They play counter-attacks at times and when we lose the ball, we have to be wary of that and stop them from countering,” the Spaniard stated.

“The last match against Pune, the first goal we conceded was a big mistake from our defence and we cannot commit the same mistake again.”

While the pressure will be on Jamshedpur to get the three points, Ferrando believes Pune City will push for a win too as they look to finish the season on a high.

“Both teams will want to win obviously. Pune have three matches remaining and if they win all of them, they will not have to play the qualifiers for the Super Cup. So, they will try to win. For us we need the win to push for top-four and put pressure on the teams above us,” said Ferrando.

“If we want to make top-four, we need to win tomorrow. But in football, you always want to win. No player likes to lose. The team is working very hard and is very well prepared. To deliver under pressure is important. The fans have supported as well throughout and we are ready to win tomorrow,” the Jamshedpur coach added.

One good new for Ferrando heading into the tie is the return of Carlos Calvo from suspension but the side is still sweating over the fitness of Michael Soosairaj.

“Carlos is a very important player for us and he is fit to start. Soosairaj is 50 per cent fit. I think he can start in the bench. We will take a final call tomorrow,” Ferrando stated.

The Jamshedpur boss will be up against a Pune City side coached by Phil Brown this time instead of Pradyum Reddy who was in charge of the Stallions in the reverse fixture.

“I watched the last four matches for Pune. They are playing very well. I don’t know if they have changed a lot but they have definitely improved their results. But I concentrate only on my team. I want to get the playing XI right and focus on ourselves. I am only thinking about us at this moment,” Ferrando concluded.

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