Stephen Constantine: Somebody paid the club for Aniket, why wouldn't I take it?

The East Bengal head coach also said that wearing the East Bengal jersey can put pressure on players at times.

East Bengal will take on Hyderabad FC in an ISL 2022-23 fixture in Kolkata on Friday. This will be Stephen Constantine's side's 14th game of the season in which they will be looking for their fifth win. However, getting three points is slated to be an uphill task for the Red & Golds as Hyderabad FC is the second-placed team with 32 points. Still, playing in front of home fans shall act as an added motivation for the Kolkata giants, who shall not leave any stone unturned to secure a win.

East Bengal head coach Stephen Constantine and striker Cleiton Silva attended the pre-match press conference. Edited excerpts from the conference are as follows.

Coach's reasoning for the team's performance in the league so far

Constantine shared his thoughts on East Bengal's performance in the league so far. He stated that being unbeaten for 15 games after winning only one game in a season was not a pragmatic expectation. He said, "We have seven games left. In many of the games, we have been very close. I would say we have lost ourselves in many of those games through individual mistakes and so on. But we have seven games left. We will fight and try to get as many points as we can.

He added, "I said at the beginning when I arrived that this is a rebuilding project for me. This is year one of that project. So, we were never going to be 15 games unbeaten nor we would be among the top four. We hoped for a top-five or six finish but things did not work out for various reasons."

"You cannot have a team that has won one or three games in the previous seasons win 15 games in the third year without making some changes. So, this is what we are trying to do," he further added.

On the positives from the season

Stephen Constantine said that players like Cleiton Silva and Lalchungnunga are the major positive takeaways for East Bengal from this season. He stated, "Cleiton is a top professional, a quality striker. If you get him the ball, he will get goals. I think if we had a bit more support for him, it would have made him a bit more prolific. Also, I think Chungnunga is a silver lining. There are also one or two other things. But we are in the position we are now and we need to go and win the next game."

On how the coach is motivating the team to tackle Hyderabad FC

The mentor said that the very idea of playing against an opponent like Hyderabad FC is a big motivating factor for his side. He said that these games help a team to improve their game, which is the primary motive of his team.

"You want to play these games against big teams because there is always the possibility that you can take a point or three points. That makes your performance better. You want to be better every game. In the last few games, we have scored first and then lost. So, we need to be able to defend the lead. We need to be able to be a little bit more compact. We should not lose our shape. Going back, looking through all the games, I think we have been very close in all of them. That's not good enough. When you go a goal up, you should try and protect it."

On the team's defensive abilities dipping after scoring a goal

The 61-year-old gave his reasoning regarding his team's performance dipping after scoring a goal. For that, he gave example from his initial days with the national team. He said, "When I was with the national team, every time we scored, everybody started to panic. If we conceded a goal, everybody relaxed. We were not going to win, we are not a very good team, and now we can play without any pressure.

"I think it is similar here. When we go a goal up, the boys panic, they drop back, they don't want to lose the lead. Also, I think the pressure of playing for East Bengal sometimes is quite heavy. But, this is where we are and they have to learn how to deal with that. If they are not able to deal with the pressure then they must go," he added.

On not being able to sign new players due to administrative issues

Stephen Constantine said that East Bengal's inability to sign new players is not a fault of the present investors and all the complications are being sorted out soon. He said, "We have already signed one player but there are some administrative problems due to which he cannot take the pitch. This is not the fault of the club or the investors. This is from a previous payment problem from last year. I have been told that this is handled and by this week this should be okay. And then we will have the signing that we signed, ready to play."

On the departure of Aniket Jadhav, the head coach added, "I got an offer I could not refuse and I sold him. This is football. Somebody paid the club for Aniket, why would not I take it?"

On the team still making similar kinds of mistakes

The East Bengal coach admitted that his team is still making many individual mistakes that are costing them games. He gave his reasoning for the same. He said, "You have 24/25 players in the squad and we try to include everyone throughout the league. For example, we have a lack of height in the squad. So, when you are playing big teams who have 4/5 players who are 185 cm and we don't, it is a major disadvantage. These are some of the issues we are dealing with.

He added, "So, sometimes, you will put somebody in who is okay but who gives us some height as opposed to someone who is five feet five inches. For example, Jerry. He is not going to win a header against too many people. He is a decent player. So, then you put in somebody who is six feet, who can defend at the second post and in set plays."

Cleiton on scoring himself but the team not winning

Cleiton expressed his feeling about scoring regularly and still not being able to win games. He said, "I don't think in this way. I try to push myself independently of whether we win or lose. We have to give 100 per cent every time. It gets a bit boring of course when you keep on scoring and your team is not winning. But, all the boys including me have to do a better job because sometimes it is not only about scoring goals. You have to have the mentality that we have to win a game. That is most important."

Cleiton on how he is motivating his teammates to go forward with the season

Cleiton shared how he is motivating his teammates to go forward with the season. He said, "I try to push my teammates through my attitude on the pitch. I try to be hardworking in the games by always running and trying to do my best in a game. You can motivate people by what you are doing on the pitch. So, I think this is the best way I can motivate them."