Calcutta: ATK would be more than desperate to end their nightmarish spell of poor shows when they take on regional neighbours Jamshedpur FC (JFC) in an ISL IV tie, at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday.

So far, the two-time champions haven't had a good season at all. And that ultimately resulted in the ouster of Teddy Sheringham as the coach. Technical director Ashley Westwood was made the interim coach, but that change didn't prove to be enough for a turnaround, at least in the last game.

In their last match, ATK were beaten at home by Chennaiyin FC. As Westwood has said, they still believe they have a chance of finishing in the top four in the group-league stage. But for that, every match counts for them.

With just three wins from 11 matches, ATK lie at the bottom half of the table. They wasted their last home game and can't afford another slip.

ATK, in fact, play five of their remaining seven games at home. To make optimum use of that, they will have to lift their performance level immediately.

But the job will not be easy. Not just because they are not enjoying a good run, but also because the team is plagued by absence of key players.

ATK will not be having the services of Portuguese star Zequinha, who has been ruled out for at least a month after sustaining a hamstring tear. If that was not enough, midfielder Ryan Taylor is also out of Sunday's match as he will serve a suspension due to accumulation of cards.

The biggest one missing for ATK has, of course, been Robbie Keane. He is set to return to the squad, though it is not confirmed when will he be back on the pitch.

JFC have only done slightly better than ATK thus far and so, they too need to pull up their socks if they want to progress beyond the league stage. They have four wins from 12 matches and with 16 points, are not much ahead of ATK. They have a fragile defence, but unlike ATK, Steve Coppell's team have no injury issues.

Both Westwood and Coppell, however, are keen to look forward and stayed positive about their chances. "We need a win for confidence and for team morale. But I would still say we don't need to win all the games we have left.

"Even if we lose Sunday's game, I will say we are still not out of the competition," Westwood said at the pre-match media conference.

"We've spoken about winning four, possibly three, with a draw to keep ourselves in the mix," he said.

Westwood thinks that his team showed some improvement during their 1-2 loss to Chennaiyin. "We showed a little bit of response, reaction, some intensity and desire. It gives us something to build on."<>"We'll forget we've lost three points. At the end of the day, we've had improvement and that's encouraging."

Coppell, on the other hand, has said that he expects Sunday's match to be a tough one. "It has been a difficult time for ATK... But when I see the points table, there is a distance developing between the top four and the other teams.

"So, it's up to others to keep up the pressure. I'm expecting a competitive game," he said.

About his side's chances of making the top four, the English coach said: "To be honest, I'm not thinking about the play-offs. As a coach, I think about the next game. If we can win the next game, I think we can (progress). We need to get more positive results."