Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], December 6 (ANI): Mohun Bagan Super Giant head coach Juan Ferrando expressed satisfaction with his squad as his team prepares to host Odisha FC for matchweek nine of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday and said no big changes will be taking place in the squad.
The Mariners have shown peak consistency when performing in the ISL so far this season securing five wins in as many matches, being the only team with a 100 per cent win rate. The two sides met back in November in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup when the Juggernauts thrashed Mohun Bagan Super Giant 5-2, preventing their qualification from the group stage.
The Spanish tactician has denied making any big changes in the squad and believes that it’s not necessary at this moment.
“No changes. We have a plan. We have the same way, you know, not necessarily to change a lot of things. In my mind, it seems to work the same, to keep the ball, to find the spaces. There is no special details because it is an important match, of course, because it is, all the time (I have) explained (that) when you play at home (they) are very important matches. But no, I think it is not necessary to be crazy and change a lot of things,” stated Ferrando in the pre-match press conference as quoted by an ISL press release.
The head coach believes that although the Mariners are missing Dimitri Petratos in their attack, they are prepared to adapt to whoever is available and plan their strategy accordingly. Ferrando stated, “Sometimes we have different players. When you have different players, sometimes it is necessary to change some points in the style or some points in the moment of the positional attack. Of course, Dimitri is different than Jason or Armando, but our job, the staff, is to prepare the plan depending on who is ready or who is not ready all the time.”
Satisfied with his squad depth, he added, “I am so happy with this squad. When he is not ready, one player, we have another player. They are ready to play. Of course, sometimes it is necessary to change some details because depending on the players are ready or the players are fit or players are in the best performance. Sometimes it is necessary to change some details, but only some changed details.”
The 42-year-old clarified that they are not looking for any revenge after the AFC Cup loss as their primary motive is to prepare for the match in such a short period. “I am not thinking about revenge. For me, the most important (thing) is to prepare (for) the match in a short time. Because, you know, we play Saturday, against Hyderabad (and then) travel (on) Sunday. Honestly, we have two days to prepare for the match. But I am not thinking about this because ISL has 22 matches in front of us. The most important is the same performance (in) every match. So not thinking about this. All the time (I have) explained, when you win, when you lose, the past is the past (and) is not possible to change.”
Midfielder Anirudh Thapa accompanied the coach in the press conference. Addressing Odisha FC’s form and their mentality to face them, Thapa shared, “Obviously they are a good side. They have been playing good football as we all know, but you know, we need to prepare ourselves. We know what we are facing tomorrow. We know how good they are. It is just that we need to be focused and we need to go with the plan.”
Reminiscing on their last encounter, the 25-year-old believes that they need to prevent repeating the mistakes they made in the last match. “Now it is the league game and we have to be concentrated enough. We know what mistakes we made in the last game and we just need to be focused and be concentrated and do not repeat the mistakes that we did in the last game,” he shared.
Thapa feels that his team has a hunger to win more games and that hunger will stay until they win the league. He said, “The hunger is there to win the match, to win the shield, to win the league. The hunger is there because we have 22 matches. We have the playoffs. We have so many matches left. We are winning five games. You know, the hunger is there to win more and more and more. That will never stop until we win the league. So I think tomorrow also there will be the hunger you know, to get those three points.” (ANI)
