Stahre lets Sachin defend himself after morale-boosting Blasters clean sheet

For over two months, Mikael Stahre was overly protective of goalkeeper Sachin Suresh. Even as the 23-year-old committed a series of fatal errors, costing the Blasters precious points, and then went off injured after four rounds, Stahre maintained that Sachin was the first-choice for his Kerala Blasters side.

But on the eve of their 10th game of the Indian Super League season, Stahre confidently threw his young goalkeeper in front of the media. He knew the timing was right to let his young custodian defend himself. Just four days ago, Sachin played a good part in the Blasters' first clean sheet of the season, ending a run of 18 games without one. "It is nice to have a clean sheet, and it is nice to have this man back," Stahre proudly looked at Sachin.

It could be treated as intelligent man-management by the Swede. By giving a timely injection of confidence to a key member of his mostly insecure defense, Stahre has passed a message of togetherness to the rest of his squad.

Sachin, in his first pre-match, was immediately asked about his poor form at the start of the season and what it means to finally keep a clean sheet. "The life of a goalkeeper is always difficult," Sachin said.

"I had a confidence issue in the first few matches. I hardly had any pre-season, and the first ISL match was like my first pre-season game. So, there were issues quite naturally. But we worked on recovering from those mistakes and on areas to improve."

Sachin had been responding in Malayalam, which Stahre obviously did not understand. But his version was similar: "The preparations were absolutely not perfect for Sachin this season." Stahre then added: "But we expect more of him, he is already a top goalkeeper.. we can see a way better Sachin than now."