Juan Ferrando: Confidence levels in dressing room increased after ISL win

ATK Mohun Bagan take on Gokulam Kerala on April 10.

Juan Ferrando's ATK Mohun Bagan are all set to kick off the Super Cup campaign on Monday in Kozhikode when they face I-League giants Gokulam Kerala. It’ll mark the Mariners’ first game since winning the Indian Super League (ISL) title, after which it was also confirmed that they’ll be known as Mohun Bagan Super Giants from next season onwards.

For now, however, Juan Ferrando isn’t looking that far forward in life. He’s focused on helping the Mariners do the double by winning the Hero Super Cup. But the Spaniard is sticking with his ‘one game at a time’ mentality as he opened up on his thoughts heading into the game against Gokulam Kerala.

Juan Ferrando wary of Gokulam threat

Ahead of the game, he gave his thoughts on Gokulam Kerala and said: “I saw Gokulam’s I-League match against Mohammedan Sporting. After the change in head coach, Gokulam’s playing style has completely changed. They’re playing a better brand of attacking football. Their foreign talents are performing well.

“In any tournament, the first match is always among the toughest. We have to treat this opening game like a final itself because we want to start the Super Cup with a win. They’ll have a home field advantage, but I’m not that worried about that. We need to focus on ourselves to perform at the best possible way,” he also stated.

Thoughts on the competitiveness of the group

Juan Ferrando is also wary of the threat that the two other sides in their group, Jamshedpur FC and FC Goa pose. He mentioned: “In the group stages, apart from Gokulam we face two teams who both play in the ISL. Jamshedpur and FC Goa are two teams we know pretty well. They’re well capable of springing up surprises against teams, which is why I feel our group is a very challenging one.

“We need to treat every game as a final, because only one team can progress from each group. Our initial objective is to defeat Gokulam. Then we look to be the group winners. I know the two ISL sides well, but they also know our strengths and weaknesses. That’s why we need to take things one step at a time,” he added.

ATKMB hungry to win another trophy

Finally, Juan Ferrando indicated that his squad is relatively fit for the competition and the ISL win has made them hungrier for more trophies. He revealed: “There are slight issues with the squad’s fitness. Ashique Kuruniyan and Manvir Singh have still not recovered from injuries sustained earlier this season. However, everyone is well involved with the squad. I don’t feel we’ll have any advantage in the Super Cup having won the ISL title. That (ISL win) is the past.

“We’re now entering a new competition with a different level of competitiveness. But I can say that by winning the ISL, the confidence levels have increased in the dressing room. Everyone wants to win the Super Cup. We must remember this isn’t a league, so there’s no room slipping up in the group stages at all,” he finished off with.