Juan Ferrando: We need to trust in ourselves

The ATK Mohun Bagan boss also heaped praise upon forward Dimitri Petratos.

ATK Mohun Bagan aim to jump into the third place in the Indian Super League (ISL 2022-23) table when they face a challenging Hyderabad FC side. Juan Ferrando's team have won just one out of their last six games and are aiming to pick up form in the final sprint of the season.

Can ATKMB turn around their form?

Speaking about his hopes for helping his side turn around their form amid the difficult spell, Juan Ferrando said: “For us, this is a new game. It’s important to focus on the Hyderabad match, it’s not possible to change the past. We want to get three points, as is our target for all matches and is our mentality. We have our plan for this situation.”

Injury situation and replacement for suspended Subhasish Bose

When asked about the condition of his squad for the game, the Spaniard stated: “As I say all the time, injuries are a part of football. We only have two days to prepare for the game and we’re not in the best situation. We’ll work on our options and find the best line-up and best substitutes for the team. I’m not thinking about the players who can’t help the team, because we lose energy in this case. We know our injuries and who is out for the game.

“We’ll think about the team after working in the next two days. Subhasish (Bose) is suspended, Carl (McHugh) is injured and the rest of the squad is fine in this moment. In this moment, Hugo (Boumous) is injured but is working with the medical staff. We have training for the next two games, if his performance in training is good, he’ll be in the squad for the game. But we have training today and tomorrow and we’ll work with the medical staff for the last moment. Because it’s important to know who is ready to help the team,” he added.

With Subhashish Bose suspended, Juan Ferrando was questioned if he plans on using Ashique Kuruniyan in his place or even changing his formation for the game. He answered: “We have, more or less, players for every position. We’re working on this situation. For us, it’s about who can be ready to help the team. This won’t be a big problem because we trust in the players. At this moment, there are some players who are more ready because they don’t have any physical moment. It’s not necessary to think about the system or formation, but to find the best players to be ready. There is a lot of travel involved too, and that is the most important thing.”

Added pressure on ATKMB for this game?

When asked if there is added pressure on ATKMB to win this game to mark the beginning of a promising end to the season, the Spaniard stated: “There is pressure on us all the time. It’s necessary to follow the plan. Of course, we are disappointed for the results in the last few games. We know we’ve created chances, we miss chances at times – but it’s important to control our emotions, take feedback and be positive.

“It’s not the first time we’ll have problems in front of the goalkeeper. We need to trust in ourselves, that’s the psychological thing. It’s the responsibility of everyone in the team to play in attack and defence. If the team can work in this way, the team can get success and win three points from the next game,” he added.

Ferrando not thinking about dropping out of top-six

Juan Ferrando also seemed annoyed at the indication of him fearing to see his side drop out of the playoffs places, as he explained: “I’m just thinking about three points and getting the third spot. I’m not thinking if we drop out of the top-six, that is not our mentality. Our mentality is to get the three points when we travel to Hyderabad.

“As you know, Kerala Blasters lost to Bengaluru and that gives us a great opportunity on Tuesday and Saturday to have a final for the third position. I’m not thinking about getting knocked out. We’re working to get that third spot. We need to think about the Hyderabad game because it’ll be tough. It’s important to control a lot of things in the game,” he mentioned.

ATKMB ready to test the waters of a difficult schedule

When asked how he plans on dealing with two games in less than a week for his side, the ATKMB mentor said: “This is a skill. It’s not possible to change it. We must not lose energy in extra things, we need the energy to be ready for the next two games. It’s nothing special. We can’t think that we’re missing chances, we have injuries and problems. We don’t like to lose energy in these things. We've two days to prepare between the Hyderabad and Kerala games. We’ll be happy if we can get three points against Hyderabad.”

Big praise for Petratos

Finally, Juan Ferrando lauded Dimitri Petratos with high praise and termed him as one of the ISL’s best players. He said:  “It’s so good. You read statistics. He’s perfect in pressing, he’s perfect tying to find the spaces, he’s perfect in creating chances from those spaces. He helps in build-up, he helps in defence.

“You can read the statistics about how many goals and assists he has. He has been one of the top players in ISL this season. I’m very happy with him. It’s very good for the team as well and I only have kind words for him,” he finished off with.