Ahead of our Monday night clash, Manolo Marquez speaks about the unbeaten streak, the challenges ahead and more…

On the result against the Blasters…

The win was very important for our qualification chances. But no, it was not our best performance of the season, mainly because Kerala probably played better than us in the first half. But after we scored in the second half, it looked like they were mentally not prepared to come back into the game.

Yes winning 4-0 is a confidence booster but every game is different. We are doing well at the moment but we know that we are facing the strongest team in the league and are ready for the challenge.

On the unbeaten streak…

Yes, we are in a really good moment. The draws that we had were criticized at times but all those performances are the reason why we are still in the race to the top-4. I believe, at this moment, every team in the league table is in the position they deserve to be in.

We are in a good place right now and highly motivated. But we know that we have difficult fixtures coming up and we want to make sure that we continue with our good form.

On race to the top-4…

Everyone, including me, thought that Mumbai City would win the league but ATKMB showed how good they are. This is normal in football. Similarly, the race to the top-4 is still completely open. I assume even Bengaluru and Jamshedpur have a chance, and yes, three teams on the same number of points, with just two games left to play, is really good for the league as well.

We have difficult games coming up, but so do NorthEast and Goa. Anything can happen in these few games so we only want to concentrate on our game against ATK Mohun Bagan. Both of us need the points and I expect this to be a really good game.

On plans to stop Roy Krishna…

He is a difficult player to mark. For me, he is the best forward in the league. ATKMB have strong and physical players at the back and this sometimes leaves Krishna and David Williams without too many options in attack.

But Krishna can score goals out of nowhere. He’s very clever in the box, can score all kinds of goals, uses his body well and it is not going to be easy to stop him. But we have done well so far and I hope that my team is ready for this challenge.

A message to the fans…

My players and I have received a lot of messages from fans in Hyderabad through social media. We know that they are behind us, and we will try to do our best in every game for the fans and the city.

Playing in front of empty stands is not football, according to me. It is important that we can play in our city soon. It’s nice to have fans back in the stadium and I think our team really needs them. Every goal we score and every ball we fight for is for the fans who cheer us on.