The Boss Talks About Getting Back To Winning Ways At The Fortress
On whether the scoreline reflected Bengaluru’s performance…
We didn’t have a brilliant game, but we did enough to win. I think we created enough chances to score. I don’t think ATK had many decent chances. It surely is a fair result.
On Sunil Chhetri’s performance…
Sunil is an outstanding player. These kinds of goals can only be scored by people who are unique. He started on the left side, just like in Kerala. We had a good game there and wanted to continue with the same tactic. But he wasn’t involved that much in the opening 20-odd minutes and so we decided to move him down the middle. It was a lucky break for us as Sunil received the ball straight from the defender. He wasted no time in making an attempt and he got the goal, which gave us the win. But that’s what he is capable of.
On ending the trend of conceding goals at the death…
Today we were much better than the last two matches at home where we conceded in the final minutes of the game. We wanted to improve that and I think not just the defence, but the entire team were consistent in defending throughout the 90 minutes. So, I am happy with that as well.
On Subhasish’s performance and competition for places…
Subhasish has been playing well for the last two games, and he deserves to be there and win the (emerging player) award. Nishu had a good season, but he is young and needs to keep working hard. We have a good competition for places, and we need a big squad as we play in the AFC Cup as well. It is going to be difficult for us with back-to-back matches and it will be a good opportunity for all players to help the team.
On the lack of goals coming in from set-pieces…
To score with set-pieces is always difficult. We think about our good performance with set-pieces in the past and keep working hard. It will always be an important weapon for us. I’m not worried about that because Marc has come in, Edu our goalkeeper coach also chips in. We have a Video Analyst Alwin who keeps working on it as well. I know we will score in set-pieces in the coming games, so it’s not a problem.
With Bengaluru FC atop the standings at the halfway stage, is it in line with the expectations for the season?
My expectation is to have a good season and at the halfway stage, we are at the top. So now it’s time for us to be humble and realize that the job is not done yet. It’s more nine games to go, and our priority is to seal the place in the top four. It’s not done yet, and we need to keep doing the things we have done in the last two rounds. The team which will come in a better shape in semifinal will have the advantage because it is an open situation in the play-offs. But it is too far away and I don’t want to talk about it at the moment. I don’t remember any easy games we have had so far and I don’t see it changing. We want to achieve our primary goal and for that we have to fight for three points in every game as in this league every team is strong.
