Not that things have been too smooth for them. Beaten in the Rovers Cup semifinals by Central Railway and eliminated in an early stage in the Federation Cup by State Bank of Travancore have been setbacks. But winning the professional league in Goa had restored their confidence.

Salgaocar have lost two key players in Franky Barreto and Sanaton Singh in the transfer. But Shabbir was not really perturbed as he had roped in Kenya's William Inganga, a striker of immense promise. The guiding force will be Bruno Coutinho and Savio Madeira. The in-form Venkatesh has the reputation of playing all over the field. For Indian Bank, the going has been anything but smooth. The win against Mahindras pepped them up following the two early losses.Against East Bengal, the pressure clearly told on them and just about managed to salvage some pride. It could be no different on the morrow against an organised side like Salgaocar should the team not come out with something new.

The cheerful news is that Sathyan will be back and the little `rest' he had must have done a lot good to his overworked legs. The inability of the midfield to function has been the principal worry. There could be no honest triers than the like of Hamilton Bobby but without the support from the other medios he could hardly afford the luxury of moving upfront to spray the passes. True, there has been no short supplies of his trademark crosses. Sabir Pasha has borne the brunt but the law of averages is sure to catch him.The bankmen have to do a lot better if they have to keep the reputation of waking up late. This time the wake up call had come pretty early. With three losses from four matches, all the pressure is going to be on them.