The Boss Urges Team To Better Their Performance With Big Games Coming Fast

On rotating the squad for upcoming games…

We have played the last four games against teams from the bottom half of the table but now we will be facing teams which are in the Top 5 or 6. Let’s see how it works out. We are closer to our first goal, that is top be in the last-4. But it’s also true that you need to be humble and keep working hard if you need to be there, because it’s not done yet. We have to see who is in the best shape to play in these upcoming games. We don’t have that many injuries, but Rahul’s red card was harsh. We have a good squad and I’m confident even in the players who were on the bench and back in Bengaluru. We have to keep working hard and, if possible, try to play better than today.

On the message to the team at halftime…

Sometimes, when you score a goal that you don’t deserve, it turns the things around. You don’t see forward that much, because normally you have to fight for those three points. May be in the first half we weren’t playing that great, and so I had to keep pushing my team to work harder and try going ahead. ATK had few moments where they could’ve scored, and it was not the situation where we should’ve be defending but instead we needed to go forward in search of the second goal. That was our intention, but unfortunately with the red card our plan changed. It was about being well organized in defense and Gurpreet did a fantastic job. It was not our best game, and the circumstances sometimes seem incredible with the early goal, but it doesn’t always help us.  They weren’t lucky with it and the fact that they hit the post, maybe they deserved more out of the game. But football is like this and we can’t always control the circumstances.

On birthday-boy Gurpreet’s performance…

One more year, and he’s more experienced. He had a great game tonight, and for him it’s about continuing his hard work. It shouldn’t be just about being the national team goalkeeper, he needs to try to go to Europe or any other big league. He has a lot of talent and quality, but he also has some weak points which he needs to work on, which he has been doing with our staff. At the moment, it’s not about that aim, but about staying humble and working hard every day.

On Rahul’s sending off…

When your performance isn’t great, but you still win, you can’t complain too much. I need to be aware of the fact that there will be games where we won’t play that well. With the big games coming up, we have to play better to get the desired results, as we’ll not always be that lucky. About the red card, I think everyone has seen that Rahul has managed to touch the ball. But in the game, we were lucky with the own goal, and maybe unlucky with that decision. We can’t control it as it’s part of the game, and I can’t say much about it. We just need to keep working hard as we move forward.