"I hope to see our stadium full": Northeast United head coach Juan Pedro

GUWAHATI (Assam): Ahead of NorthEast United's upcoming match in the Indian Super League (ISL) against Bengaluru FC at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday, the Highlanders' head coach Juan Pedro Benali hoped that the stadium will be full. While speaking in the pre-match press conference, Benali wanted the fans to push them in their upcoming game against the Bengaluru-based franchise.

"I hope to see our stadium full. We want the fans to push us. When the fans are with us we are a great team," Benali said. Talking about the upcoming match, he added that they will be playing against a strong side and said that Bengaluru have quality players in their team.

"We are playing against a very tough team. They have many players in the Indian national team, very good foreign players, great coach. It's a tough team to play against. It will be very difficult for both teams and it will be a nice game," he added.

Benali asked the fans to show some patience since he is just six ISL matches into his tenure and suggested that it will take some time for him to build a strong squad.

"We are still babies. We are growing. We can't become a 100m runner in just five months. We need time. We are working, the players are working very hard," he said.

North East United FC are sixth in the table with eight points on the board. Both their wins so far this season have come in Guwahati and the fans will remember the last time the team were out on the field on their home patch.

The Highlanders scored two stoppage-time goals to overturn a deficit and win the game and Benali hopes to see a similar atmosphere as the Blues come calling.