Hyderabad FC's Javier Gurri Lopez: Players are enjoying training

Hyderabad FC interim coach Javier Gurri Lopez feels that the gap between the top and bottom sides in the Indian Super League (ISL) is negligible.

Ahead of Friday's tie against Mumbai City in Hyderabad, he said, "Mumbai is a strong team. They are playing to be in the top four and it's not going to be easy for us. But we know that the competition between the first and the last team is not too much. We have a great team and our mentality is to play exactly the same against Mumbai as we have done against other teams."

With former Bengaluru coach Albert Roca set to take over the side from the coming season, Lopez has pointed out that the defensive record of the team is acceptable.

"We come here to watch and to check the players. We have now about one and a half months until the end of the season to know all the players. We also try to win the next games. It's not easy. We are checking new and younger players and we are really excited about the team.

"I have been watching all the statistics. We conceded 31 goals. If you want to be successful and at the top level of the competition, one of the things that need to be done is don't concede so many goals. I think the problem is not specific to the defenders but of the team. We try to be compact. We attack with 11 players including the goalkeeper and we defend with 11 players including the strikers.

"We are really happy with the attitude and mentality of the players. The training has been of high quality and high intensity. The players are enjoying training. For us, that's very important."

The club also confirmed that Adil Khan has extended his stay at the club for three more years until 2023

"Preparations are on for the next season. Albert Roca is the new head coach here so the aim is to get to the top four and we will give our best next year. We were not able to achieve our goals this year because our performance was not good," he said.