Juan Ferrando: Team lost focus after the refereeing decision

The ATK Mohun Bagan boss also commented about Roy Krishna.

It was a tiring day at office for ATK Mohun Bagan, as after a long time, they suffered a defeat at home and that too, against Bengaluru FC. The ISL 2022-23 playoffs race is heating up and this defeat will undoubtedly make things tough for Juan Ferrando's side going forward in the campaign.

Inconsistency issues

ATK Mohun Bagan have been inconsistent if not for a major proportion of the league, then at times. Juan Ferrando started, "When we have opportunities, we miss them and the team's confidence is down. Then we are not confident while passing the ball, we miss easy passes. The become confused. After the 63rd minute, the team was afraid - I don't know why. Of course, the team knows the plan. May be they are scared about losing, or the transitions, or giving away an opportunity to the opponent."

Performance of Liston Colaco

Liston Colaco has been the talk of the town in Kolkata in recent times. But it's not because of his heroics, rather his off-colour performance in almost every game.

The ATK Mohun Bagan mentor was asked if he's happy with Colaco's displays. He replied, "I'm not happy with the performance of the entire team. I don't like when the team loses focus due to a refereeing decision. For example, when a player from the opponent handled the ball, our team lost focus. The team was out of the match. If the referee gives a wrong decision, forget about it and keep working. It's not about the performance of one player because whether we win or lose, it depends on the entire team."

Roy Krishna scoring against former team

The former ATK Mohun Bagan talisman has scored four times this season till now. After a bleak start to the campaign, in the recent few matches, the Fijian has found his shape. On Sunday, he even scored against his former employers. It was sort of a revenge for Krishna.

Juan Ferrando was asked about the lack of a positive striker in the team. Might be someone like Krishna, whom the management didn't prefer to keep this season. The mentor commented, "Roy Krishna's goal was our mistake. We are talking about 16 matches. If Roy has 25 goals in 16 matches, I shut up. I don't think it's necessary to talk so much. It's important to stop talking about one player. This is not how it's done in our club. If one player wants to be more than the team, it's better he's out. In India, we have to work like a team and improve like one team."

Playoff position gap shortened

With Bengaluru FC now joining the party, the playoff battle becomes more intense. We now have five teams fighting for four spots and a possible sixth side in Chennaiyin FC, for whom, a top-six finish is still achievable. Juan Ferrando was asked about the pressure created due to such a situation.

He said, "The pressure is normal for us. We have it in every match. I don't like if players are in the same level the entire season. They need to improve tactically. Of course, it's a risk for the coaching staff because here results are the most important. Now our focus is on Jamshedpur. We have to find another plan and prepare for the match."