Indian Super League (ISL) side, Odisha FC’s head coach, Josep Gombau has reiterated that his minimum target is to reach the playoff stage of the league next season and that can be achieved if his squad play with the “right mentality”.
Gombau who returned back as head coach of Odisha after a two-year absence is highly rated at the club, considering that he helped them finish sixth in the 2019/20 season despite having a young domestic squad at his disposal.
“The Indian Super League is growing and everyday it’s becoming more competitive. Our minimum target is to be in the playoffs. That’s our objective and I am confident that we can make it work. I know it’s not easy. We did it last time, so why can’t we do it now? We have more time to prepare and all of us are working hard,” he said in an interview.
The 46-year-old who left Odisha in 2020 to join Queensboro FC knows that his side have plenty of work to do considering that the other clubs have better resources at the moment, though he believes that his players can match the other squads if they have the right “mentality”.
“It’s not easy to compete but we can match everyone with the right mentality. This year the playoffs will be for six teams. Every member of the team needs to believe that we can make it to the top. I don’t want players to think, ‘oh it’s so difficult for us against these big teams’. I want mentality of, ‘yes, we can do it.’ We can’t be just talking, we have to work on the field. Everyone has to be together,” the Spaniard added.
Odisha have been busy in the transfer window, bringing in the likes of Raynier Fernandes, Michael Soosairaj and Narender Gahlot in order to give them some much-needed experience – with Gombau still in the market for two strikers and a number 10.