Kerala Blasters will know nothing but a win will do over high-flying FC Pune City when the two teams meet in an Indian Super League match in Kochi on Wednesday.
After reaching the final of ISL 2014, much was expected from the Kerala Blasters this season, but they have failed to live up to those high expectations, and currently find themselves bottom of the points table, having managed just five points from seven matches.
This is the last position the Kerala Blasters would have envisaged being in at the halfway stage of ISL 2015, but they have little time to feel sorry for themselves, with the league leaders in town.
Having shown some signs of improvement in their last game – against Chennaiyin FC which ended 1-1 -- when caretaker manager Trevor Morgan played with a back-four, new manager Terry Phelan will want to begin his life with the Kerala Blasters on a winning note.
"We have to stay positive, I've got great staff along with me -- we have got Trevor with us also which is great," Phelan, who replaces Peter Taylor at the helm, said. "He knows the players a little bit better than me obviously but the self-esteem and motivation is already there among the players. They are responding well to the training sessions and having fun.
"We can't keep worrying about other teams, we have to now take the game to them and show them what we've got.
"We have got seven games remaining and we've got to win five or four, draw three. I can't bring anything negative into the game. We have to go forward now, we hope that every game we play we win that game.
"We have to be solid defensively as well. In the last game, we did very well. If there was any team that could win the last match I thought it was us, we just have to keep forward with the right mind."
Such talk has gone on all season for the Kerala Blasters, but when it has come down to getting results, something or the other has not quite clicked. Against PuneCity, any mistake will be punished, like the Blasters found out in the reverse fixture, when David Platt's men ran-out 3-2 winners.
With the Delhi Dynamos joining them at the top on 13 points courtesy their 1-1 draw with NorthEast United on Tuesday, Pune will want to put some daylight between them and the rest of the pack with three points at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday.
"I don't think [we have the upper hand]. They [Kerala] played well in their last 90 minutes with Chennai," Platt said. "See, positions of the teams are irrelevant...It's going to be a difficult game whichever way you look at it."
Where to watch live
Kerala Blasters vs FC Pune City is scheduled for a 7 pm IST (2.30 pm BST, 9.30 am ET) start. Star Sports 2, Star Sports HD2, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD3,Star Utsav, Star Gold (both Hindi), Asianet Movies (Malayalam), Jaya Max (Tamil),Suvarna TV (Kannada) and Jalsha Movies (Bengali) will all show the ISL 2015 match live in India. The ISL 2015 action can also be watched via live streaming online in India, and over a 100 other countries, on Starsports.com and Hotstar (note, there will be a slight delay).
Viewers in the UK, South East Asia, including Singapore and Hong Kong, can watch Kerala Blasters vs FC Pune City live on Star Gold, while audience in Canada can watch the Indian Super League 2015 game live on CBN and ATN.
Viewers in the US and Australia can watch the ISL 2015 game live on Fox Sports, while the online live stream option is on Foxsoccer2go and Foxtel.
Eurosport will show the Indian Super League match live in Europe and South East Asia, while the Kerala vs Pune match can also be live streamed on Eurosport Player. Viewers in Sub Saharan Africa can watch the ISL 2015 game live on SuperSport and Zuku.
Middle East and North Africa viewers will be able to catch the Indian Super League game live on OSN, with the live streaming option on OSN Play.
