Kerala Blasters are currently going through a rough patch in the 2025/26 Indian Super League. They recently strengthened their claim for the relegation spot with a 2-1 defeat against newly promoted side Inter Kashi at Kochi. This was their third loss in a row, or in other words, a hat-trick of defeats in their first three games.
David Catala is under a lot of pressure from the fans who expect better results from the club after being promised by the management that the current squad is good enough to compete. While losses are acceptable, the manner in which they lose, the effort they put in trying to win games matter a lot. With relegation looming, here are three things that the Blasters and David Catala should look at fixing before heading into their next game.
Improving concentration post-drinks:
Nearly half of the goals that the Blasters have conceded this season, have come from lapses of concentration just following the drinks break. The first goal of the season conceded against Maclaren came after the first half drinks break. Both the goals against Inter Kashi came in similar situations.
While it’s acceptable for some players to lose concentration after a break, as a team, they must do enough to prevent the ball from ending in the back of the net. And this should only be a one-off occurrence, not a habit that keeps repeating every game.
If the Blasters want to get better results and come out of the relegation zone, it’s obvious that David Catala must convey the message across to his players stay concentrated throughout the ninety and avoid the post-drinks break lapses.
Develop variety of attacking patterns
If I could point out one thing common in the last 3 games of Kerala Blasters, it would be the repetitive movements that they have displayed, particularly in their attacks. The Blasters’ movements, despite being effective at times, run out of steam as the game progresses, as the movements get more and more predictable, enabling the opposition to figure it and make changes to cancel it out. For the visual learners out there, let’s look at this graph (arrows represent direction of attack):
As you can see, the darkest parts (i.e., parts with the least concentration of play) are spread through the center. With the Blasters conceding first every other game, the primary playing style of long balls and attacking through the wings ends up being too easy to read and defend, and eventually leads to cheap giveaways and counters, which tilt the momentum of the game in favor of the opposition.
So, David Catala must surely work on a little bit of variation, which is the need of the hour for the Blasters if they would like to be less predictable and more threatening.
Win second balls and recycle the ball better:
In general, one key takeaway from each of the Blasters’ three defeats this season is their inability in winning second balls, be it attack or defense. Despite the tall imposing structures of Danish and Rowllin in the midfield, they clearly lack the ability to win second ball to stop attacks and start quick counterattacks.
Another key negative is the absence of a ball recycler/supplier, particularly in central areas like Zone 14. Zone 14 is one of the key regions in a game of football. It’s a zone where most key passes in the game are given.
Blasters could use a player like Rowllin/ Marlon/ Vibin/ Ebindas to be in and around Zone 14 more as an extra attacking outlet to receive cutbacks and to recycle balls from failed crosses and rebuild the attack while maintaining pressure on the opposition line of defense, something which worked to an extent in the previous game against Inter Kashi, something that the Blasters’ should look more into.
What’s Next?
David Catala is currently facing the heat from the fans, but not the management. But if the results fail to improve, his role as the head coach of Kerala Blasters could be under serious pressure considering the club would want to avoid relegation at all costs.
Up next, the Blasters will be facing Chennaiyin FC on 7th March 2026, Saturday, at 7:30 P.M. at the former’s home turf in Kochi. Two teams who are struggling at the moment will hope to get their season up and running in the Southern Derby.
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