Past records not important, says Juan Ferrando ahead of Mumbai City clash

ATK Mohun Bagan are yet to defeat the Islanders in the ISL.

ATK Mohun Bagan will hope to maintain their winning run when they face Indian Super League (ISL) heavyweights Mumbai City on Sunday. The Mariners have had a pretty dismal record against the Islanders in recent campaigns, something they’ll hope to fix at the Mumbai Football Arena. Prior to the encounter, head coach Juan Ferrando and forward Manvir Singh spoke to the media.

Here's what they had to say.

Plans for the game

Speaking about what his side’s plan will be to tackle a threat like Mumbai City, ATKMB head coach Juan Ferrando said: “It’s a different plan to what we had against East Bengal. It’s a different style and different team. They have a lot of quality players – for example last season in the AFC Champions League they played a difficult match away from home. But we have a plan and we hope to have success on Sunday.”

When asked about how his team is planning to follow up from that Kolkata Derby performance against the ISL heavyweights, the Spaniard revealed: “After that match, we had a few training sessions and we spoke about our finishing. We need to change the mentality. We have 16 more matches in front of us and it’s important to be ready for the next match. We need to be ready for the next match as it has three points and it’s important to get three points because there is little difference from the first position. We need to maintain a high-performance level and it’s important for us to win.”

On Mumbai City's strengths

Addressing the strong points of the Islanders, the tactician said: “There are a lot of good points. They have a strong midfield core – they can play Apuia and then Mourtada Fall to help with the build-up and control the space. They are strong in the attacking position. They have quick positions and have players with good decision-making. They control their attacking situations really well because they control the situations well. It’s difficult to work with these things at the back.”

Juan Ferrando has often spoken about how his team needs to improve in the transitions. When asked if they’ve done so, he said: “I hope the team is more ready for the games ahead. We work in training to improve. Our target as a staff is to take control of transitions and the defence. I hope we can get better.

“It’s important for me to control the important areas. It’s not enough for me to control one match and then lose control in the second match. The target for us is to be a strong team and then depending on our line-ups, our team will be the same, barring injuries. Irrespective of the line-ups, the team must play in the same way,” he added.

Mumbai City game tougher than Derby?

After being questioned if the Mumbai City game will be tougher than the Kolkata Derby, Juan Ferrando said: “I hope we can get the three points, that’s our target. We can’t talk about East Bengal because that’s the past. It’s important to be ready for the next match. We need to see what happens. Never thinking about stats because that can change in football. It’s difficult to control all the games. It’s difficult to win 7/8 games.

“It’s important for us and the players to be ready. It’s difficult for the players as, after two years, this is the first time with a crowd and then travelling to other cities. It’s important for us to control these details too,” he added.

Record vs Mumbai City

ATK Mohun Bagan have never defeated Mumbai City in the ISL so far. When questioned on how he plans to break that record, the Spaniard exclaimed: “It’s not important to talk about the past record and stats. In the last two seasons, ATKMB never won against Mumbai. But this is a new match and I trust in my squad. Our mentality is to get three points. We have a lot of respect for Mumbai, but I’m never taking that if we lost in the last two years, we can never win the next match. On Sunday, it’s a totally different game and I trust in the players 100% and hopefully we will get three points on Sunday.”

Liston Colaco's form

Liston Colaco is yet to make a major impact for the Mariners, having been unable to score a goal so far. After being asked if he’s worried with the player's performances, Juan Ferrando explained: “For me, all the players are equally treated. Manvir (Singh) didn’t start the season well but now he’s performing at his best. All the teams in India, Europe or South America are the best. In 20-30 matches, the normal performances in six to seven matches are not good even at the highest level. In England, you get a player performing at a super level for ten matches. In the position of Liston or Manvir, it’s difficult to be in the high performance because the position depends on the planning of the team.

“If the team is in a good position in the attack, it’s easy for Liston to attack the free spaces and control the timing of the attacks. If the team isn't good or compact in the attack, then it affects the performances of Liston or Manvir. It’s important to think and work like a team. If everyone can accept their role for the team, then 100% of everyone can perform at a high level. If the team doesn't accept some rules, then the performance of the players isn’t the best. But I’m not worried with Liston because all the players have some time with good performances – especially if they’re high in confidence,” he added.

Thoughts on defenders

The head coach was asked if he is satisfied with his defenders' performances this season. He said: “As a coach, I’m never totally happy because I know that everything can improve in some details. But I know it’s a game with 11 players, 11 emotions and human beings. It’s necessary to control a lot of things. Of course, I can talk about the past, I’m disappointed with the AFC cup showing – but it’s the past. I’ve thought about it all the time, but we need to think about the Mumbai City game. It’s not possible to change the past. My focus is to think about the game on Sunday and next week, because it’s crucial for us to change the mentality to a winning mentality.”

On Dimitri Petratos

Finally, the Spanish tactician shared his thoughts on the performance of striker Dimitri Petratos. He detailed: “He helps us a lot because we talk about his position at times, but he understands the timing of the attacking positions perfectly. I’m happy with all my foreigners because everyone understands our concepts perfectly. Dimitri reached Kolkata on September 1st or 2nd. He learnt about our concepts in the training sessions, not in the matches. That’s incredible because football is in his mind. It’s easy for me when we have players with his talent.

“Because in the end, everyone is performing well because of him. He knows how to control the spaces, he knows when to attack the free space and I love him. Not just his goals, but the way he controls the spaces and how he presses high up is admirable. He was tired against East Bengal but he continued pressing till the last minute. I’m very happy with him. I hope he can continue in this same way because he is a very important part of this team,” he concluded.