Dynamos must guard against complacency: Coach

New Delhi, Oct 28 (IANS) Having received a morale-boosting big-margin victory in their previous match, Delhi Dynamos manager Harm van Veldhoven has warned his team against complacency when they host NorthEast United FC in an Indian Super League (ISL) match Wednesday.

“We will see how we react to the high-scoring win. Sometimes teams become inconsistent after being on the right side of a high-scoring game,” Harm said at a pre-match press conference Tuesday.

“It is always difficult to hold on to that level. Against Chennai we started really well and got an opening goal early. We would like to score early again Wednesday.” 

He attributed his team’s 4-1 win against Chennaiyin FC Oct 25 to team work and spoke of the team’s need to bond together as a unit.

“We have to work as a unit in every game. In the last match we did that and won. Our tactical and physical training are designed to use the experience of players to form a united team. It is imperative that we play together and it is only then Indian football will develop,” he said.

Expressing his happiness at the performance of the Indian players of his team, he spoke of his gladness that they are making progress as a professional.

“I am very proud of the Indian guys. We are talking and discussing with them regularly and they are keen to learn. I saw winger Steven Dias’ progress in training and put him in the starting eleven against Chennai and he put in a superb performance. Other Indian players are also playing their part,” the Dutch coach said.

Delhi have collected 5 points from their three matches and are fourth in the standings, two rungs behind NorthEast United FC who have seven points from four matches. The away team is coming into the match on the back of a 0-2 defeat against Mumbai FC.

He shot down theories that the league standings will have any impact on the outcome of the game, saying that his team, having dropped four points from their first two games, are “used to playing teams who are ahead of us”.

“We are not unduly worried about our opponents. We are focusing on our game, trying to build from the back and control the flow of the match,” the 52-year-old said.

He however, acknowledged NorthEast United’s advantage of assembling players from a specific region but also pointed to the erosion of the edge as the tournament progresses with all teams getting to know each other.

“Now it is a lot easier to prepare when you know how opponents play. In our first match everything was new and hence unknown,” he said.

He also praised his defenders for putting up a creditable performance having conceded the fewest goals in the tournament so far keeping in mind the unfamiliar nature of their opponents.