After stumbling to a 1-0 loss against FC Goa in the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL), Odisha FC coach Stuart Baxter said that the side needs to improve on few fronts in order to beat the heavyweights in the competition.
A second successive win helped FC Goa climb to the fourth spot of the ISL points table as they beat a gritty Odisha FC 1-0 at the GMC Stadium on Saturday. Igor Angulo (45+1') netted the winner to help Juan Ferrando's side register another victory.
"The front players are not the only ones to blame. Possession is to blame. Time and movement are to blame. Our low block, not being good in transitions is to blame. There are a few things we need to improve," Baxter said during the post-match press conference.
The coach also said that the bubble experience has been hard for his side as it comprises of many young players. Baxter also said that the fans need to stay patient with the club.
"Everything is difficult at present. We have all gone through the bubble experience. It has been very tough for us because it is a very young team. They need time. Same for all the coaches. That's not an excuse. You are not off to a good start and then you keep making changes and your confidence is a little bit. The gameplan was never strongly executed. We are going to come back with a massive response in these next two games," said Baxter.
Marcelinho had come off bench only in the 88th minute for Odisha FC. Baxter said that it was a tactical decision to bring him in as he wanted to play a different style.
"Basically, I didn't think Marcelinho would be the solution to many of the problems we were facing. We didn't want to open the flanks even more. We were going 3-5-2 and pushing our wingbacks tight. We didn't want to throw one of our trump players. Diego Mauricio was the one who was looking like he may get us a spark," said Baxter.
Odisha FC will next take on Bengaluru FC in the ISL on Thursday. Baxter's side is currently at the 10th spot in the points table with 1 point from five games.
( With inputs from ANI )
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