When NorthEast United parted ways with Gerard Nus, their Indian Super League season looked all but over. However, Khalid Jamil has sprung a...

When NorthEast United parted ways with Gerard Nus, their Indian Super League season looked all but over. However, Khalid Jamil has sprung a surprise, dragging his team to the cusp of the playoffs, with a six-game unbeaten run.
Now, it is up to them to finish that job and enter the final four. A victory against wooden-spooners Odisha FC at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Sunday will go a long way in helping them achieve that.
A win will not only propel NorthEast into the top four, but it will also anoint them as favourites for a playoff spot. Their last three games are against Chennaiyin FC, SC East Bengal and Kerala Blasters, teams placed eighth, ninth and tenth respectively on the Hero ISL table.
Like all those opponents, Odisha too had a season to forget. However, NEUFC coach Khalid Jamil will know that Sunday’s opponents are not to be taken lightly.
“They have done very well in the last game against Kerala Blasters. We have to go tomorrow with the right mentality and give our best effort to win the game,” said assistant coach Alison Kharsyntiew.
NEUFC received an additional boost when Hyderabad FC, one of the three teams going neck-to-neck in the race for the playoffs...