When you lose your marquee player, whom you have just signed for a fresh season after a couple of largely forgettable seasons, it is safe to say that your future doesn't bode well. Things do look grim for FC Pune City after former Chelsea and Barcelona star Eiður Guðjohnsen – who just three months ago had his swan song, coming off the bench for his country Iceland in the European Championships – was ruled out of the upcoming third season of the Indian Super League owing to an injury sustained in pre-season training.
And the bad news doesn't stop there.
Besides the 38-year-old forward, Pune will also miss the services of their new centre-back Andre Bikey, formerly of North East United, who suffered a tendon injury. And it's not just injuries that are hurting Pune this season. The club will not have their key man Eugeneson Lyngdoh, arguably India's finest midfielder at the moment, because of his commitments with Bengaluru FC in the AFC Cup. In another blow, derby rivals Mumbai City FC have lured away their electric winger Jackichand Singh.
Edel looks for a hat-trick of titles
Indeed, Pune's path ahead looks grim. But they have a few things riding in their favour as well, most notably their new head coach. In what could be the club's most crucial signing of the season, Antonio Habas, who led Atlético de Kolkata to the ISL title in the inaugural season and a subsequent play-off berth in 2015, will be at the helm of Pune this time around.
Habas has established himself as a top coach in his two years in the ISL and his experience in the competition will benefit Pune immensely. In him, Pune has a coach who knows what it takes to overcome the hurdles that the two month-long, gruelling league throws at you. The club will be hoping that the Spaniard repeats his ISL results.
Pune have also reinforced their on-pitch strength. They have added Japanese-born Indian midfielder Arata Izumi to their squad, reuniting him with former coach Habas. Izumi appeared for Atlético de Kolkata in the second season of the ISL, and left a positive mark with his performances, scoring five times in his 11 appearances.
Izumi has an old connection with Pune, having served the club for six years before it pulled out of the I-League in 2015. He has a chance now to make his homecoming sweet.
Another of Habas's protégés from Kolkata who joining him at Pune is double-ISL champion Apoula Edel. Edel was the first-choice goalkeeper at Atlético de Kolkata under Habas when they won the crown in 2014. The following year he joined Chennaiyin FC and went on to win his second title in India.
Edel will be the tip of a strong defensive setup at Pune, one that includes domestic veteran Gouramangi Singh, who had served as a centre-back for Chennaiyin FC during their semi-final run in the inaugural season of the ISL. A seasoned campaigner for the national team as well, Singh will add necessary experience to the team and act as a leader whom the local players can look up to.
Pune's defence will be bolstered by Narayan Das and Augustine Fernandes (another one of Habas's trusted men from Atlético de Kolkata), both of whom have impressed in the national team setup under Stephen Constantine.
Pune get two La Masia graduates
In addition to the Indian talent in the back four, Pune have also brought on Eduardo Ferreira, a Brazilian-born centre back who plies his trade for Equatorial Guinea.
In the midfield, Izumi will be aided by the acquisition of another Indian veteran, Sanju Pradhan. The 27-year-old winger has captained East Bengal in the past and has also played under Habas at Atlético de Kolkata in 2014. He went on to appear for North East FC in the second season of ISL and will now be joining his former coach at Pune.
Also adding experience to the midfield will be Bruno. The Spaniard represented Delhi Dynamos and North East United in the first two seasons of the ISL. However, the surprise element in the club's attacking midfield will be the Spanish duo of Jesús Tato and Pitu, both of whom are products of the famed Barcelona youth academy, La Masia.
But despite the considerable reinforcements, it seems Pune is putting all its eggs in Habas's basket. The head coach has assembled a team around his trusted players from Kolkata, but the fact remains that the Pune squad still does not match up to the strength of clubs like Kolkata, Chennaiyin and Mumbai.
The absence of a marquee player capable of inspiring and leading the team to a maiden playoff appearance is bound to hurt, although Pune are on the hunt for another marquee signing.
Last time around, Pune was expected to deliver as the team felt like a complete package. With former England international and Manchester City coach David Platt in the manager's seat and big-name signings like Tuncay Sanli and Adrian Mutu, they were expected to go far. But after leading the points table for a while, Pune lost track and eventually finished seventh.
Maybe expectations are tempered this year, and that could work to Pune FC's benefit.