Juan Ferrando: In difficult moments it's necessary to show character

The Mariners face an uphill task to make it to the playoffs.

ATK Mohun Bagan suffered their second defeat in three games after going down to a 1-0 loss to Hyderabad FC on Tuesday. Juan Ferrando's men played encouraging football for the majority of the game, but failed to score goals and saw super-sub Bartholomew Ogbeche score a late winner that extended their winless run.

The away team enjoyed more possession but had nothing to show for in the goals column despite managing three shots on target. Five offside calls did not help the team's cause as well, and the team has gone without scoring a goal in their previous five away games. Manager Juan Ferrando spoke to the media in the post-match press conference. Edited excerpts are as follows.

Ferrando’s thoughts on the loss

Juan Ferrando was dejected after another loss but graciously congratulated the hosts for the win. He said, “We must say congratulations to Hyderabad for securing the second performance. They’ve performed very well in the last two seasons. For this game, we tried to work with our squad options and needed to change the plan due to injuries in the game.

“At this moment, players like Ogbeche have very good quality and we conceded the goal late on. It’s difficult for us at this moment and disappointing not to get three points. But it’s necessary to accept that Hyderabad has a very good squad and their performance levels are high,” he added.

Are ATKMB squad fearing missing out on playoffs?

With this loss, ATKMB are now just one point above dropping out of the top-6. When asked if his side fears missing out on the playoffs. Juan Ferrando, “In our dressing room, we’re talking about looking to focus on the next matches rather than lose energy about thinking about us being in difficult moments. We have two days, we have Thursday and Friday to prepare the team for the game. We need to show character if the players want to play in a big club and play in the playoffs.

“We’re close to them and try to support them. Of course, we’re disappointing everyone because the results aren’t good. Sometimes we’ve been unlucky with injuries and other details. But in difficult moments it’s necessary to show the character,” he further stated.

Thoughts on his side’s goal drought

This loss also marked ATKMB’s fifth successive away game without a goal. Speaking about the goal drought, Juan Ferrando explained, “Of course, I check the statistics – but we got three shots on target and got zero goals. Hyderabad shot once and got their goal. In this case, we have a problem and are not happy about these things. But in this moment, it’s more talking about focusing on the next match.

“Now it’s not possible to change things, it’s necessary to accept and think about the next 90 minutes of the game. It’s not possible to give Ogbeche one meter because everyone knows giving him one meter can be disastrous. It’s important to think about these details, we aren’t concentrated for the last moment and got zero points,” he further stated.

Injury issues causing major problems for ATKMB

Juan Ferrando also lamented the injuries and player suspensions that have haunted the Mariners’ campaign. He said, “Today we only had a 19-man squad, not 20. We lost Subhashish, Carl, Hugo, Pogba, Tangri, Kauko. Practically we have another lineup with injuries. It’s difficult when you start a pre-season and you prepare a team with one squad and then you lose 6-7 players, that’s a problem. But this is a part of football, we must accept this and find players that can help the team. We’ll need to fight until the last moment with our squad. For me, it’s good for developmental players to be in substitutions, but maybe it’s too much of a support for them to score goals or help the team in difficult moments.”

Is the squad motivated to win the Kerala Blasters clash?

When asked if his squad is motivated to win the crunch next game against Kerala Blasters – which could help them take a step closer to playoffs qualification – Juan Ferrando stated “Of course, we’re very motivated for the next game. For us, it’s an opportunity to be in the playoffs and we won’t like to be out. I think every season we’re fighting for third and fourth position, of course, we want to be in our best moment and we want to be in the playoffs. But we need the right mentality.”