Simon Grayson provides major update on Prince Ibara's injury and possible return

The Bengaluru FC head coach also spoke on the rivalry his club shares with East Bengal.

Bengaluru FC return to the Kanteerava after playing three away fixtures in a row. The Blues face East Bengal, who are currently languishing in the 10th place with just one win in five matches. Simon Grayson's side have struggled to find the back of the net despite being difficult to break down defensively.

Injuries to forwards Prince Ibara and Sivasakthi has been a cause for concern, while Javi has taken some time to return to full match fitness. BFC head coach Simon Grayson was joined by Fijian forward Roy Krishna in the pre-match press conference. Here's what they said:

Having a week off before returning home

Bengaluru FC have endured a torrid sequence of away results, drawing 1-1 with Chennaiyin before losing 1-0 to Hyderabad FC and Odisha. They return to action after a break of 13 days, allowing their injury-marred forwards to return to fitness.

Simon Grayson was relieved to have a break at such a time. He said: “I think it has been really good for us. It was the best time for a break because we had a lot of injuries going into the Odisha game and hopefully by Friday, we will have a lot more players available in key areas of the pitch. It has allowed us to get a lot of good work into the players on the training pitch. Full credit to the players who have worked extremely hard on tactical and technical conditioning work. Overall, I am pleased with what we have done in this break.”

Is Lack of goals a worry?

Bengaluru FC have been found lacking in front of goal, scoring just two goals, and posting only seven shots on target from four matches. Grayson was clear that he is still learning about his players and the different conditions. So he has put emphasis on the defence first. He said, “I am still learning about the league as well, the standards, systems, environments, and conditions.

"We had a good pre-season playing a 3-5-2 in Kolkata for the Durand Cup and went to a back-four against Odisha FC with more through balls and more supply. I will chop and change the system over the next few weeks and months without a shadow of a doubt. We have got players in our squad who can score goals and provide assists. That is not a concern, but we need to be better at the top end of the pitch.

"Our team could have Ronaldo or Messi up the pitch, but if we don't give them the right delivery, then they won't be able to do what they must. We have done a lot of work on that.”

What should be done to quicken the transition play?

The Blues began the season without new signing Javi Hernandez starting and have found it difficult to mount sustained attacks on their opponents. Simon Grayson stressed that everyone in the team must step up to increase their creativity. He said, “Javi has fantastic ability, he has shown that he has many assists and can score from distance.

"It is the wide players, wing-backs, and full-backs. It is about the midfield players being more positive in their forward passing. We need more people at the top end of the pitch making forward runs. Lots of things have to happen to increase creativity in the team. One thing we spoke about is having a positive attitude and more confidence in each individual.

Take those one-on-ones and shots on, make it your responsibility. We want players to express themselves on the pitch. It’s a lack of a positive attitude and a technical issue as well. Coming back home will be a different mindset for everyone. We want to bounce off the energy that the supporters can give us.”

East Bengal’s style of play

Under Stephen Constantine, East Bengal made a flurry of statement signings. But the team has failed to gel and complement each other. Grayson assessed his next opponents, “They have a certain way of playing, 4-4-2 by the looks of it. They play quite deep even in their home games and look to play on the counter. We have got to find different ways and solutions to winning matches.

"There is a positive feeling about the players in training. It does not feel that we have won only one of our four games. We will take any type of victory because it is breaking the run of two defeats, but we want to play high-tempo, attractive, and quality football.”

Roy Krishna - Approaching a different ISL playoff format

From this edition, the playoff format has been tweaked to include six teams instead of the traditional four. Roy Krishna was strong in his opinion that teams should not take time to gel and ease into a period of transition, given that two extra teams can make the cut.

He answered, “We need to start from the first game. Last two games we did not get the result, but we played well. We just need to focus on ourselves. We have good players in our squad, so we just need to work hard and get back to winning ways. I feel a lot of positive energy in the team. We are back in front of our fans and need them to back us up.”

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Reigniting the flames of an old rivalry

East Bengal and Bengaluru FC have enjoyed a very colourful rivalry stretching back to the I-League days. East Bengal play in Bengaluru after a gap of over five years. Coach Simon Grayson said, “I think every game that you are involved in, whether it is a rivalry or a local derby, you have to practice what you’ve worked on to win the football match. The past is history and whatever happened before cannot affect what happens on Friday.”

Injury Troubles

BFC have been laid low with a series of injuries to key players. Coach Grayson provided an update on the status of a few players, “There is a mixture of injuries, a couple of soft-tissue ones, and Siva coming off before half-time. That was an ankle roll, more of a contact injury. You do analyse your training with the physios to understand what we are doing wrong and look at the travelling situations which is not ideal. Hopefully, we won’t get too many more.

"I will update you on Prince’s situation, he was injured in the Durand Cup and he will be out for a considerable amount of time. It is quite a serious injury and is hugely disappointing for everybody.”