"It was a hard-fought, and well-deserved result for us against NorthEast" - Hyderabad FC coach Thangboi Singto keen on building momentum | ISL 2023-24
Hyderabad FC head coach Thangboi Singto, pleased with his team picking up a point against NorthEast United in their last game at home on Monday, knows that this is a huge start for them, albeit towards the end of the season.
Hyderabad will now travel to Chennai to take on Chennaiyin FC at the Marina Arena on Saturday, March 9. They will have to be at their best to overcome the hurdles thrown their way.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Singto expressed that he hopes that his team will be able to tackle those difficulties well.
"It was a hard-fought, and well-deserved result for us against NorthEast. But as I have mentioned before, against East Bengal, Bengaluru and a few other teams, we had played extremely well and could have got a point," said Singto.
"Now, the situation is such that even a draw is as good as a win. Only youngsters are playing for us, with only a senior in midfield (Joao Victor) and another in goal (Laxmikant Kattimani.) Now, we don't have Joao for this game, so we will have to adjust accordingly," he added.
"Mark's is a bigger loss, in the sense that he is so versatile" - Thangboi Singto on Hyderabad missing key players
Hyderabad have been dealt a huge blow ahead of this game by the absence of club captain Joao Victor and left-back Mark Zothanpuia owing to the accumulation of too many yellow cards by them.
Victor, who mans the central holding midfielder's role for the Yellow and Black, misses out on a third away game in a row after Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru. But it is Zothanpuia, whom Singto said would be a bigger loss, purely due to the versatility the Mizo offers.
"When Joao and Mark (Zothanpuia) play together, we have a lot of control on the pitch. This is because Mark is a good technical player and Joao is a leader who executes plans for us. He also guides the youngsters as they listen to him," said Singto.
"Having said that, he was not with us against Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru, so we know what we have to do. Mark's is a bigger loss, in the sense that he is so versatile and could fit in anywhere. We are training well and trying out a new midfield triangle, so let's see what works out. The boys are listening well, and I trust them to perform to the best of their potential," he elaborated.
Thangboi Singto is not unaware of the fact that despite largely underperforming all season, Chennaiyin can come back strongly at any time.
The Nawabs will have to tread carefully when they visit their southern neighbours and be sharp both with and without the ball. If the young boys who come in to cover for Joao Victor and Zothanpuia rise to the occasion, this could turn out to be a big result for Hyderabad.
"For me, this match might be the biggest challenge for us because some of their foreigners (Conor Shield, Jordan Murray and Cristian Battocchio) are very strong; their Indian players, like goalkeeper Debjit Mukherjee, are sharp too," said Singto.
"But I have told the boys that this game has to be about us; we need to focus on what we want to achieve in it and we want to come back home with a win and smiles all around," he signed off.