Bengaluru FC coach Simon Grayson reveals why Sunil Chhetri is out of the side

The Englishman also reserved praises for Rohit Kumar, Naorem Roshan and Parag Shrivas.

Bengaluru FC clinched their fifth successive win in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 with a 2-1 win over ATK Mohun Bagan on Saturday. Javi Hernandez and Roy Krishna scored late on to give the Blues their first win over the Kolkata giants in the ISL. Simon Grayson's side also reinstated themselves in the sixth position, final playoffs spot, and are now just three points shy off the top three. Here is the manager's thoughts from the match.

Simon Grayson’s thoughts on result and Bengaluru FC’s form

Simon Grayson is a pleased man to see his team’s hard work pay off with the fifth consecutive win, as he said after the game: “I think even when we lost some games earlier in the season, we weren’t playing too badly. We made defensive mistakes and got punished for them. When we got opportunities to score, we didn’t take them.

"Football is all about the fine margins at times and we didn’t get them breaks. What we did is having the belief, worked hard in training and confidence plays a big part in our form.

“You get results, your confidence gets better. Now we have won five on the trot. But we must ensure we must stay humble and work even harder, because football is a difficult sport to keep continuing with success. We’re pleased with how it has gone, we’ve defeated a tough team that is above us in the division and I think we got a good win tonight,” he added.

Should've kept a clean-sheet

When asked if he feels Bengaluru FC should’ve scored more goals on the night, the Englishman said: “We had more opportunities. We had plenty of shots on goal, but they weren't enough to work the goalkeeper. The one thing I was disappointed with in the first half, which I told the players at half-time is that we were very good out of possession, our shape was very good and we limited them to very few chances.

"But we needed to be better in possession. We were in too much of a rush or had too many touches. We needed to control the ball better to have better opportunities. That is what we did in the second half. The biggest disappointment, especially for the goalkeeper and the back-five is we didn’t keep a clean sheet. It would’ve been nice to have kept one and two goals at the back of it," he stated.

Praise for Rohit Kumar

Rohit Kumar produced another impressive performance from midfield for the Blues. Speaking about his evolution this season, the gaffer explained: “He has always been in my plans, because he’s been on the bench every game. Like a lot of players, they have to be patient and work for an opportunity in training to catch my eye, be it in a reserve game or training.

"Rohit has done that and I always tell my players to be ready and make sure to take an opportunity whenever it comes. Regardless of how many game time you’ve had previously, you go and grasp that opportunity.

“He has done that. His goals have been a bonus and his all-around play has been very good. You do well and you stay in the team. It's the fifth game on the trot that we’ve picked the same team. Today we had the strongest squad we had all season. Today for the first time all season we’ve had six foreigners available.

"That just shows that we’re getting players back from injuries and everyone needs to take their chances when they get them. Siva also did the same. We have a strong bench with players like Sunil (Chhetri) and Pablo – we have players who can bring change whenever we need to,” he added.

Thoughts on the Kerala Blasters game

Bengaluru FC face Kerala Blasters in their next game, a game their fans will be really excited for. Speaking on that game, Simon Grayson stated: “We’ve seen a small nucleus of BFC fans to have travelled with us all the way wherever we travel. Now we prepare for a massive game against Kerala Blasters. It’ll be a near sellout and be extra spicy now that we are in the playoffs position and they are trying to maintain their position in the playoffs.

"It should be a fantastic spectacle and let’s hope we can come out on top, we hope to put one over them and then move into the last two games strongly and give fans something to cheer about.”

Has Grayson spoken to Roca or Caldeira?

Grayson also opened up on the arrivals of Albert Roca and Darren Caldeira in upper management. He said: “I haven’t spoken to him (Roca) yet. The news came out last week and I’m sure we’ll catch up this week. He’s probably still in Spain, but he’s coming with a lot of knowledge of the football club.

"He’s a must, when Mandar Tamhane left the club, we needed someone with a lot of expertise. Darren (Caldeira) is coming in as a director of football, I’ll speak with him for a longer chat soon. You can’t have enough football people in management, it’s good to have different personalities with different skills and hopefully they’ll be a successful club going forward.

"Mandar did a fantastic job and the club decided to do whatever they did. But now we have two new faces that have a fantastic connection with the club.”

Sunil Chhetri’s situation and praise for youngsters

Grayson also urged patience from Sunil Chhetri, who was again an unused substitute in the game. He said: “He will be fresh (for the final games) because he’s not getting a lot of game time. He’s basically out of the team at the time because the other two strikers are playing really, really well. They are scoring goals consistently.

"But when I see at the bench and see someone of Sunil Chhetri's quality and iconic stature in Indian football, it’s great. I know he’s desperate to get more game-time to make an impact. But maybe it’s written in the stars that he will score his second goal of the season in a massive moment. He’s an ultimate professional, an amazing motivator and a mentor for the younger players too. He has to wait for his opportunities.”

Praise for Indian youngsters

Finally, Simon Grayson had praise for Naorem Roshan Singh and Parag Shrivas – as well as his Indian players – for keeping the foreign players out of the starting XI. He stated: “He (Roshan) found the transition difficult from last season. Last season was in a bubble, he’s probably never played under such big crowds consistently. Last year we saw a true Roshan.

"I also feel like Parag (Shrivas) has also developed well over the last few weeks, he’s done very well tonight. Waited for an opportunity and did well. You can understand how well the players are truly when I can leave three foreigners on the bench. All the credit to the Indian players for keeping the foreigners out,” he finished.