Gokulam Kerala didn’t have the best of starts last season in the I-League however, a late surge in form saw them occupy the seventh spot. The southern outfit is keen to make amends this time around with Mudde Musa exuding confidence ahead of the 2018-19 edition of the I-League.
“The team started badly maybe because it was our first season in the I-League. But it is better to improve later rather than to go down after starting well. The team kept growing. The pre-season was also not good which affected the team. But we improved match-by-match. But this time we had a good pre-season.
"We have been training together for a good period of time. We also played some friendly games and we won in most of them. We can do much better in I-League than the last season.
“We have a game on October 27. The coaches and the management are trying their best so that we get to have the best preparation. I expect to finish in a better position. I believe we can do it,” said the midfielder.
KFA
Henry Kisseka, who played a vital role in reviving Gokulam’s fortunes last season, has joined Mohun Bagan while Kivi Zhimomi has been snapped up by NorthEast United. Musa believes that while Kisseka and Zhivvomi played important roles last term, Gokulam have able replacements in place.
“Henry was a very good player. He gave his best. He put up an example for the rest to follow. But we have good reinforcements in every department. It is our duty to lift up Gokulam irrespective of who stays or goes. Football is not a one-man game. I am confident that we will do better,” he opined.
He mentioned that after six-to-seven games in the season, it will be able to decipher teams who will compete for the title.
“It is too hard to tell whether we are going to win. But each team must respect one another. Everyone is competing. We will try to start where we stopped last season. And until we play six-seven games you can't really tell where we are going to finish.”
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