The Boss Discusses The First Win, An Indian Front-Three And Yet Another Memorable Night At The Fortress
On the first win this season…
We have been going for the win from the very first minute in all the four games we have played so far. Sometimes you have more fortune in front of the goal. Sometimes you are creating the chances and sometimes you aren’t, and that is football. So I am very happy with the boys and the supporters because once again, we got another magical night in Kanteerava. The first game against NorthEast was a bit different because of the incessant rains. It changed the game for us, and for the supporters as well who couldn’t come in very large numbers. Today, it was one of those magical nights that we have been living on different occasions all these years. I’m very happy for everybody who loves Bengaluru.
On Paartalu’s presence and impact in the team…
In set pieces when you have a man like Paartalu, he can produce the goods because of his height. He was great in his first game. I am very happy for him because he is a very hard worker. It has been almost 9 months that he has not played because of the injury last season and he was very eager to play, so it is great that he is back with us again.
On if tactics or team selection got the Blues their first win…
No, it was a mistake in goal against Goa, in the 92nd minute that didn’t let us have the three points. But this is football and everybody has an opinion. Had we got those 3 points in Goa, that we deserved, then I think all the talk would’ve been different. It’s about dynamics, and we broke it today and scored three goals. It could’ve been 0-0 on another day. Chennai hasn’t scored and one day they will break their dynamic as well.
On if it was a perfect performance…
It was not a perfect performance for sure. It was the first game for Erik, and it was the first game that we played with three Indian attackers because Manu had a little problem with his ankle and we could not use him. So, we are working to give our best and of course, we have to improve and there is no question about that. What happens in football is that when you start scoring, you get more space as the opposition has to attack you. In the first half, we got the opportunity after the first goal, and we made it count with our second goal. During the break, I told my players that if they (Chennaiyin) score, we’ll get nervous and 2-2 will be a possibility. But if we keep don’t concede, we will have chances to score the third goal.
On an Indian front three…
I’ve said this from the first day that I am going to use Ashique in different positions. It is one of the good things about the team that I can move the players. You can see I can put Sunil in different positions. You saw that with Khabra and Bheke at the end. Rino was the central defender because I prefer Bheke on the left side, so it is great to have those kind of Indian players that have a lot of tactical knowledge and they can play in different positions and it is really a good thing for me. Of course, our attackers are really special players, they have a lot of speed. Ashique is very young, he is still taking all the decisions in the right way, but he still has to learn.
