VI SHAL be back to form

Chennaiyin FC head coach Bozidar Bandovic threw his weight behind under-fire goalkeeper Vishal Kaith and asserted that the club’s first-choice shot-stopper would not be dropped from the starting line-up for the Indian Super League 2021-22 fixture against Odisha FC at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco on Saturday.

Kaith didn’t cover himself in glory against NorthEast United FC and Mumbai City FC as his erroneous decision making – coming off the line – led to goals. The 25-year-old custodian had a few nervy moments against Hyderabad FC too, but fortunately escaped punishment.

While Kaith was CFC’s undisputed No.1 in the past two ISL seasons, he faces stiff competition from his understudy Debjit Majumder in a period of indifferent form. “As a coach, I never point fingers at my players. He (Vishal) will be the first player on the team sheet against Odisha,” said Bandovic in the virtual pre-match presser on Friday.

“He has my full support and he will play. I am not thinking about changing (removing) him. You can’t take a player out after a mistake; I don’t agree with it. I called him and said: ‘It is my responsibility. It is my fault.’ He doesn’t need to worry about anything,” added Bandovic.

“We need to choose the right moments and methods to improve him. We need to talk to him, show him videos of past matches and work on them (mistakes) in training. The worst thing is that everybody is talking about him now and I don’t like it. I am sure that he will be fine. He is an important player for us and has a very good character.”

Most eyeballs will be on Kaith when Chennaiyin faces a wounded Odisha, which was demolished 0-4 by Jamshedpur FC. Both CFC and OFC have suffered a dip in recent times, collecting only 2 and 3 points respectively from their last 3 matches.

“It is a new game with three points on offer. We need to approach the match with full concentration. If we get a win in our next match, we will be well-placed on the table. We can also get our confidence back. Odisha is a good team and has some dangerous players who can create problems,” explained Bandovic, whose side narrowly went down 0-1 to League leader Mumbai City in its previous clash.

Friday’s result: NorthEast United FC 2 (VP Suhair 61, P Flottmann 68) bt SC East Bengal 0