Stephen Constantine: We need more quality in some areas

The head coach talked about how he plans to rejuvenate East Bengal in the upcoming days.

After succumbing to a disappointing draw despite getting ahead twice against the bottom-placed NorthEast United, East Bengal are set to take on the pitch against Chennaiyin FC in Chennai on Sunday. The draw came as a big disappointment as Stephen Constantine's side had won the previous game against Kerala Blasters.

This type of inconsistency has been a feature of East Bengal this season. At the pre-match press conference, the head coach expressed his thoughts on his team's inconsistency and the way forward.

Edited excerpts from the conference are as follows.

On Jake Jervis' fitness and his impact on the team

Jake Jervis scored a brilliant goal in the game against NorthEast to announce his arrival in the ISL. Stephen Constantine talked about the impact that Jervis has had on the team. He shed light on his fitness.

"Let's not forget that he has played two games in the last five days after not having played for the last three months. So, it is going to be difficult for him. He is a big lad and he looks after himself. He has been a plus in the games. So, he is only going to get better. It's a shame that we did not get him four/five games earlier. Then we would have had four/five more points than what we have at the moment. We will have to look after him ensuring that we are not overplaying him."

On the long-term project that Constantine has embarked upon to improve East Bengal

The head coach talked about his long-term plans regarding East Bengal. He informed in detail how he wants to take one step at a time to take the team to glory.

"It never stops. A football team is constantly changing. The best thing that I can say is that when the end of the season comes, you want to change three/four/five players. You don't want to change 10/12 players or four/five every window. You may bring in five/six players. The new players will have to understand what is happening. This takes time. Look at Liverpool. After Klopp got in, it took him almost two years. Then they started winning everything. It takes time. We can't buy anybody we want. We don't have that kind of money. So, we have to think twice before we buy somebody and then we have to check. So, I cannot say that give me three years and we will win everything."

The mentor added, "This year was our first year. We saw what we have. We know what we are going to remove and in the summer we will add the additions. In the next season, we get into the top-six. Maybe we get into the AFC. But our target is to get into the top-six next season. Once we are in the top-six, it is about getting into the top-four. Once we are in the top-four, it is about getting into the AFC."

On the team's inability to beat strong teams

Stephen Constantine refuted any claims that stated that his team cannot beat big teams. He stated, "We beat Bengaluru twice. We beat Kerala, who are currently third on the table. We can beat anybody on our day if we have a day like the one we had against Kerala. But we are not consistent enough. This is the problem. We go and try to win every game. But it's not possible that we win every game. We try to win, we don't go out there to lose."

Coach's evaluation of Chennaiyin FC

The tactician expressed his thoughts on Chennaiyin FC. He opined that despite having a good squad, the team is suffering from inconsistency. He said, "They seem to be a little bit like us. In their last eight games, they haven't done particularly well. But I think they are a good side. When we played them (in Kolkata), they were good. They have not won for eight games. So, they are going to be a little bit motivated to try and win this game. But I am more concerned about what we do than what they do."

On drawing their game against NorthEast United

The tactician expressed his thoughts on drawing a supposedly easy game despite going ahead twice. He expressed a lot of disappointment in losing two crucial points. At the same time, he admitted that it has been the problem of East Bengal throughout the season.

"Let's remember we beat them 3-1 in Guwahati. But yes, you beat Kerala 1-0 with a fantastic performance and then you drop two points against NorthEast. It was very disappointing. We made some stupid mistakes. I think when we scored, we started to feel a little arrogant. If we scored the second goal and it was 2-0, then maybe they would have stopped. But that did not happen. We made mistake upon mistake. We were lucky that we did not pay for the mistakes in the end and lost all three."

The mentor continued, "For me, it is very frustrating because when we play our football, we are not a bad team. We have given all the teams a good run for their money. It is just that we haven't been consistent enough. This is maybe due to a lack of depth on the bench as we cannot make big substitutions because our bench is so thin. In some areas, we need a little bit more quality than what we have. This is why we brought Jake."

Coach's assertion on Cleiton being the top-scorer in the league

Stephen Constantine asserted that East Bengal boast of having the highest goal-scorer in the league. He stated that this was because his team created regular chances.

"Look at the top-scorer in the league, it is Cleiton. Why? Because we create chances. Think about the firepower of ATK Mohun Bagan, Mumbai City, Hyderabad, and Kerala Blasters. Yet, we have the top goal-scorer. We are good at going forward. But we are problematic at the back as we have been making silly mistakes. We will try to fix this as soon as the season finishes."

Thoughts on Mobashir's recent performance

The 61-year-old head coach heaped a lot of praise on Mobashir Rahman. He said, "In the last game in midfield, we were lacking, especially in the middle. I think in the last three/four games, he has done really well. He has shown me that he can be the player that he can be. I think he has much more to give. With more confidence and more matches, he is going to be a very good player for us. But he has to continue that."