ISL 2017: Delhi Dynamos' Shakti Chauhan: We aren't getting an edge over other teams

Having lost five matches on the trot, Delhi Dynamos will face Mumbai City FC on Friday. Placed at the bottom of the table with just one win so far, things haven’t been merry for the capital-based outfit.

Assessing the reasons for the same, assistant coach Shakti Chauhan explained, ‘’Everything was right- the training was fine, the games were fine; we were keeping ball possession and doing things right. The only thing which isn’t working is the kind of thrust we are putting in the final third. Also, the finishing isn’t up to the mark, we need to work on it.’’

Apart from the unimpressive attack, the team has also been guilty of leaking as many as 15 goals, the most in the tournament so far. However, Chauhan feels the quality of defence hasn’t been substandard. ‘’From the 15 goals we have conceded, we conceded five against FC Goa and four against Bengaluru FC. If you see our games except for these two matches, we haven’t been that bad in defence,’’ he commented.

Further, the assistant coach stated that The Lions do not have an edge over others which makes things difficult for them. He also mentioned the urge to grab full points after their disappointing run of results. ‘’We are playing the same kind of football. A lot of teams use the help of video analysis which is a big boon for coaches. So everybody is studying us and we too are doing so but it becomes difficult in this competitive era; you need to have an edge over others which I think we aren’t getting."

"It’s not about pressure but it is high time that we start winning games. That’s what we’ve come to do here,’’ he expressed.

Lastly, speaking of their opposition, Chauhan said that The Islanders have the perfect blend of youth and experience at their disposal and discussed stalwart Balwant Singh’s form. ‘’Mumbai (City FC) is a very well balanced side with youngsters as well as experienced players. We do not have a special plan for any particular individual but looking at Balwant (Singh)’s form, we will definitely have something for him,’’ he said before signing off.