KOCHI: The Covid-19 outbreak inside the ISL bio-bubble and within the Kerala Blasters camp recently proved to be a major disruption for the yellow brigade's campaign. Head coach Ivan Vukomanovic had raised concerns about the situation and it proved to be a major distraction while the team was enjoying an impressive run in the league.
It told on the field as their ten-match unbeaten run came to an end against Bengaluru FC in the previous round.
Having slid down to third in the league, Blasters would look to get back to winning ways when they take on NorthEast United at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco on Friday.
A win against the Highlanders would help them move to second in the table and Vukomanovic stressed on the need to regroup and refocus.
"In the last match, we played after a long time but the boys showed a good mentality to fight. The boys have a winners' mentality and we want our fans to know whatever game it is," he said during the pre-match press conference on Thursday.
From here on, Blasters embark on a tricky run of fixtures as they will face top-four aspirants Jamshedpur FC, ATK Mohun Bagan and Hyderabad FC all in the next five fixtures.
It looks like the Kochi-based outfit is slowly regaining their focus on doing well in the league and the fixture against NorthEast is a fixture where they will start as favourites based on the form guide.
Khalid Jamil's side has been winless in their last eight matches and suffered a 5-0 defeat against Hyderabad FC in the previous round.
However, Jamil remains defiant and feels his team is not looking at past performances and is only focused on the task at hand.
"We are focusing on tomorrow's game. We are not thinking about the heavy defeat in the last game. This is the best solution for us," said Jamil ahead of the game.
What makes the task harder for NorthEast is that they will be without some notable players like Mohammed Irshad and Deshorn Brown while Blasters have all players available except long term absentees like Rahul KP.
With tougher tests ahead, Blasters will pick up maximum points against a side that is going through a horrible run of form.
But Vukomanovic knows that this is a league where any team can beat anybody.
"We have to be ready to compete as the league is very hard and unpredictable," said Vukomanovic.