We've to be mentally ready for close contest: Carles Cuadrat

Carles Cuadrat remains focused on playing an attractive brand of football.

East Bengal FC welcome Hyderabad FC for their next Indian Super League 2023-24 contest on Saturday, 30 September 2023 at the Salt Lake Stadium. Their opening game of the season ended in a goalless draw with Jamshedpur FC. The expectations are high this season with the arrival of Carles Cuadrat and winning the upcoming game is crucial to the club.

Carles Cuadrat spoke to the media along with winger Nandhakumar Sekar ahead of the fixture against Hyderabad FC. He talked about a penalty incident in the draw versus Jamshedpur, the preparations for the game against the Nizams and more during the interaction.

Here are the excerpts:

Need to be prepared

Carles Cuadrat expressed contentment with how his players executed the game plan in the fixture against Jamshedpur FC. Talking about the strategy heading into the game against Hyderabad FC, the tactician said, “We have to be prepared for everything. The most important thing is that we work on what tactics we have to use. In regards to that, I am happy because we were finding spaces and creating chances with the crosses. It is something we have been working on. The opponent is going to make things difficult but we are doing the necessary work to win the game.”

Should have scored against JFC

The tactician also talked about how his team was close to scoring and did not receive help from the officials in a few instances. “We have been analysing the match (against JFC) and we showed the video to the players yesterday. The last 15 minutes of the first half saw terrific football and it was a moment where we should have scored. But, a lot of times, in the first games of the season, both clubs are trying to capitalise on the opportunities and we were close to doing so,” he said.

Talking about a controversial incident during the goalless draw with JFC, Cuadrat questioned the quality of the refereeing. “It was a clear penalty,” he said referring to a penalty incident where Pratik Chaudhuri handled the ball inside their own box but the referee did not award a spot-kick to the Red & Gold Brigade.

Expecting a close game

Carles Cuadrat expects the contest against Hyderabad FC to be tight. Judging by the history of the results in this fixture, the Spaniard called for his players to be mentally ready. He said, “We have to be ready for a close game. Games against Hyderabad FC have always been close. We have to be mentally ready for that.”  

“I don’t believe that the conversion rate is poor. The more important thing is to arrive in the final third and create chances,” the tactician added in the context of failing to score goals, something that may need to change as his side faces HFC.

Happy with the playing style

Upon being asked if he would approach the game cautiously or play on the front-foot, Carles Cuadrat explained that the aim is to play entertaining football that people enjoy watching. He said, “We will be playing a style of football that is nice to watch. We are creating some nice actions and we are arriving with more players in the box. People are enjoying this type of football and I am happy with how things are going.”

Providing an update on the fitness of Cleiton Silva and if he will start the upcoming game, the tactician said, “Cleiton is getting ready, getting more minutes and he had a big week working and becoming fit for the game.”

Need to score

Nandhakumar Sekar was quite straightforward in his assessment of the situation. The winger wants the side to score more goals despite the solid defence, in order to win. He said, “Everyone is ready for the game. I think we created a lot of chances in the last game, the crossing and everything else is good, we are only missing the goals. I hope there will be more goals in the next match.”