"Marko Leskovic fit for ATK Mohun Bagan clash," reveals Kerala Blasters coach Ivan Vukomanovic

Ivan Vukomanovic is happy to have some pressure lifted off of him after Kerala Blasters secured their spot in the eliminator playoffs yesterday. But he believes that their campaign is far from over.

"It feels good. We are used to the pressure, even last year I think we qualified in last game or one game before the end. Of course, the circumstances yesterday allowed us to qualify for playoffs. But we still have two more games, we want to play these remaining two games strong with power to secure third spot because if we see statistically we collected more points in home games than away, maybe we have that home advantage," Vokumanovic said.

The defensive woes of Kerala Blasters begun when their veteran defender Marko Leskovic got injured. Ivan Vukomanovic has provided major update on his return.

"Leskovic has traveled with the team, he's ready for the game. He has been training in the previous period. So except for the suspension and maybe some knocks, everybody is available for the game tomorrow".

ATK Mohun Bagan, on the other hand, are yet to qualify for the playoffs and need a win to cement their spot.

Juan Ferrando said, "We have not succeeded in the previous few games and have been disappointing. But a difficult situation is the best moment to work together to decide to one plan and to follow the plan. The result from yesterday does not affect us. I am not thinking about what Goa or Odisha does in their game. It is in our hands to go to the third position. It is important for everyone to reach the best place".

There has been criticism on the substitutions made by Juan Ferrando, but the Spaniard rules it out.

"It is important to find players who are ready to help the team during the game. The supporters don’t know what happens in situations. Their substitutions are made that way for a reason. The best substitutions must happen in the best moments," Ferrando said.

"Sometimes we have to control the emotion of the team if they are in their best moment or if the performance is good or bad and it’s necessary to change formation or game plan. These decisions aren’t for the supporters, it is what the team needs. For me, it’s better to play more in attack. But for example, in the last match, we lost midfielders like Puitea and then you need to prepare substitutions in relation to injuries," he added.

Juan Ferrando concluded by reassuring that the game against Kerala Blasters is like a final and the medical team needs to take a final call on Hugo Bomous afterwards.

"We’ll decide on the squad after the last training session and about who is ready to support the team. We must wait until the last moment for Hugo. It’s not possible to take a decision before that. "