Venkatesh says Pune will defend 70 percent against Rovers

Come July 22, Indian football will get a feel of top-class soccer when English Premier League outfit Blackburn Rovers take on Pune FC in a friendlyu00a0-- which also happens to be the season opener hereu00a0-- at the Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune.

And quite naturally, the Indians are over the moon on getting such an opportunity to rub shoulders with the big buck entertainers. Even a seasoned pro like Shanmugam Venkatesh is no different. But at the same time he is cautious in his approach while facing a team that is at another level as far as the standard is concerned.

It's understandable that Indians won't fancy their chances too much or try to suppress the opponents from the word go. "We are doing whatever we can and are aware that we need to concentrate 70 per cent on defending and the rest on attack.

For us, playing against an EPL team is in itself a huge honour," Venkatesh told MiD DAY.

The former India captain agreed that Indians have nothing to lose. "We are aware that there is a vast difference in standards in India and Europe hence we can't match them, we are infants," the 33-year-old added.

While putting forward the excuse of not getting proper preparation ahead of the match, Venkatesh stressed on the need to be on their toes all through. "We look forward to being mentally and physically fit. The only thing we need to concentrate on is to stay alert for the entire 90 minutes," he said.

The Bangalorean mid-fielder, who has the distinction of playing against sides like Jamaica, Japan, Korea and China, though would hope to make the most of the opportunity at the twilight of his career.