Panaji: Hyderabad FC head coach Manolo Marquez wants his squad to not compare their last year's performance in the Indian Super League (ISL) with the ongoing season.
Hyderabad FC had narrowly missed out on the last four spots in the 2020-2021 season, finishing fifth in the league. Marquez said Hyderabad wants to continue playing good football and improve the skills of youngsters as the tournament progresses.
"You have to be positive and optimistic when getting into a new season. But we should make sure that we don't compare ourselves to the last season. If you ask any coach in the ISL, they will tell you that every team has equal chances to qualify this season," Hyderabad FC's website quoted Marquez as saying.
"We want to continue playing good football, keep up the development of our youngsters and show our fans that we can repeat or improve on the last season," he added.
Hyderabad FC will play their first match of the ongoing season against Chennaiyin FC on Tuesday. The coach said the team wants to give the best possible shot as he knows the game wouldn't be easy.
"Yes, we want to win every game, but every other team will want the same. But like we saw with all the draws last season, it is not easy to win games in the ISL, irrespective of the opponent's league positions," said Marquez.
"We want to arrive to the Chennaiyin game in the best possible shape but they have a good team, have been in good form in the pre-season and we know that it is not going to be an easy game," he added.
