Stephen Constantine: I'm trying to win games so that I can keep my job

The East Bengal tactician also shared his opinion on Naorem Mahesh Singh's performance.

East Bengal are all set to take the field on Friday against Jamshedpur FC in Kolkata. The Kolkata giants defeated the Men of Steel at Jamshedpur in their first meeting of the season. Currently, Jamshedpur is one of the two teams that are lower than East Bengal on the points table. Hence, Stephen Constantine's side would be eyeing to repeat their performance from late November and get a win on Friday to keep their hopes of a top-six finish faintly alive.

A day prior to the game, East Bengal head coach Stephen Constantine addressed the pre-match press conference here in Kolkata. Edited excerpts from the conference are as follows.

Thoughts on Jamshedpur FC

Stephen Constantine expressed his thoughts on Jamshedpur FC and what is to be expected from Friday's game. He said that he is hopeful of getting a win at home. He started, "I think there are no easy games in this league. On any given day, anybody can beat anybody. We managed to get three points in Jamshedpur. On Friday, we will try to win the first home game of the new year. But, it is going to be a battle. I am sure they will come prepared despite where they are sitting at the table. We have to fight. It is as simple as that."

The motivation of the team going into the business end of the league

Constantine stated the factors that are motivating his team to produce a good performance in Friday's game. He said, "We don't go into games with the intent of losing or making mistakes. We go into games with the intent of winning them. We will do that from now on till the end of the season. It is our job and it's what feeds our families.

He added, "We are not trying to lose any game, there is no advantage in that. I think some players will be playing to get an extension. Some will be playing to get another contract from somewhere else. There are many motivations. I am trying to win games so that I can keep my job."

The tactician elaborated, "This is the nature of the business. Everybody has some kind of motivation because if they are not playing at a certain level, then they may not be staying here next year and they may not be going anywhere else when their contract finishes because they have not done anything. So, I think there are plenty of motivations for us."

On Naorem Mahesh Singh

The mentor gave his review on the performance of Naorem Mahesh Singh this season. He asserted that Mahesh needs to be more consistent in the upcoming seasons to evolve as a big player.

He stated, "Naorem Mahesh has not performed at his best in the last few games. He needs to understand that a season is of 20 games, not two or three games. He has done pretty well this season. We have given him opportunities. He had three or four games where he was outstanding. But in the last three or four games he has been disappointing. That's not good enough.

The head coach added, "He needs to find consistency. I believe he is going to be a good player going forward. He works hard. But, unfortunately like many players, after having two or three good games, we tend to think we have reached the summit. But he has not. He has plenty more to give."

On not being able to score many goals

Stephen Constantine put forth his reasoning regarding East Bengal's inability to score many goals in a game. He said, "We created quite a few chances, but we did not score them. It has been the same throughout the season. The highest scorer in the league is an East Bengal player. Cleiton's got eight goals. Perhaps if we had a little bit more help for Cleiton, he would have scored another three to four.

The coach continued, "I believe we need to help Cleiton a little bit more. We are in the process of doing this. As soon as that is done, I hope Cleiton is not double-marked in every game and he gets a bit more space. Then the other striker will score some goals. We have created chances in all our games, even against the so-called bigger teams. The problem is we are not taking them. We are missing something. But I don't believe we are not creating opportunities."