Coach Catala says Kerala Blasters will win ISL title one day, but 'reality' is different this season

Kerala Blasters have never won the Indian Super League (ISL) title, and their head coach David Catala thinks this season too might be difficult for them to challenge for silverware.

Catala got candid with the media after his side lost 0-1 to Mumbai City in their first home match of the season in Kochi on February 22, to make it two defeats in two since the start of the campaign.

"We need to work, we need to keep going on because it is going to be a hard season, very hard season," Catala said in his post-match interaction at the Jawaharlal Nehru International (JNI) Stadium at Kaloor in Kochi. "The people, if they are feeling that we have to go to fight for top positions, he is going to lie to himself."

The Spaniard got a glimpse of the home support and is aware of the passion for football in this part of the country. "Everybody has expectations, and this club, from history, has expectations to reach finals again, and try to go for titles. I'm pretty sure they will do it. I don't know, sooner or later. But this club, they will do it because of all the atmosphere, they deserve to have it."

The Blasters, like most ISL clubs, had to part ways with some of their best players due to uncertainty in the ISL season that went on for nearly six months. The Blasters don't have the high-profile names, especially in the overseas department, as in the past, but Catala is not taking that as an excuse.

"I don't want to give excuses about the performance and the squad that we have. Everybody that is here is because we decided they have to be here, I decided that I have to be here because I believe in the project.

"Me as a coach, I have the responsibility to make them better as players and to try to make them better as a team. It is my responsibility. It is going to be hard work also for me but I believe that this is a process we need to go through and we need to pass.

"It is true that we had other ideas in the beginning, but the reality is like that so we have to face how it is going to be this season, with the squad that we have..... I'm gonna die with them. I'm gonna die with them. For me, the players we have are the best ones. I'm gonna defend them till the last day, till the last minute. This is true," Catala said.

The Kerala Blasters will host I-League champions Inter Kashi in their next ISL fixture, also at home, on February 28.