'Every team goes through a bad phase, but they will surely bounce back' - Pritam Kotal on Mohun Bagan

Former Mohun Bagan captain Pritam Kotal is currently marshalling the Kerala Blasters backline.

Kerala Blasters FC edged past Mohun Bagan Super Giant to reach the top of the table as they defeated the Mariners by a 1-0 scoreline in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata.

The Bengali defender duo, Pritam Kotal and Prabir Das, who were an integral part of the Mariners’ squad a few months ago, played together for the first time against Mohun Bagan Super Giant in Kolkata. Both joined Kerala Blasters FC in the recent summer transfer window and have been pivotal so far in the Blasters’ defense.

It was truly an emotional outing in every sense for former Mohun Bagan Super Giant captain Kotal to play against his childhood club in his hometown. But Kotal did not want to be emotional, as he showed professionalism after securing an important win against the Mariners.

“It’s good to secure all three points. It’s my responsibility for my new team, Kerala Blasters FC, to win games,” Kotal told ISL Media.

Kotal is overwhelmed to see how the Mariners welcomed him and showed their support for their former captain. But he also mentioned that they were tactically stuck to their strategies, which helped the Blasters secure a win against Mohun Bagan Super Giant.

“It’s a pleasure to see many of Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s fans still remember me and support me a lot during the game by chanting my name,” he stated.

Tactically, we stuck to our plans as we prepared ourselves before the game, and we as a team performed according to our strategy,” he added.

Kotal believes that there is no place for luck in football; the only things that matter in the end are hard work and commitment. He commended his players’ work rate and efforts and shared their commitment to their teams both on and off the field, which helped them earn such wins.

“I don’t believe that the word ‘luck’ exists without hard work and commitment. We all do lots of hard work as a team and as individuals, both on and off the field. That’s the reason we are here,” he commented.

Kotal acknowledged that Mohun Bagan Super Giant have enough depth in their squad with quality Indian players like Liston Colaco, Sahal Abdul Samad, Anwar Ali, Manvir Singh, Kiyan Nassiri, and Subhasish Bose. He comments that every team has to go through a bad phase many times, but he heartily believes that the Mariners will regain their form and bounce back in the second leg of this season.

“Mohun Bagan Super Giant has a quality squad with Liston Colaco, Sahal Abdul Samad, Anwar Ali, Manvir Singh, Kiyan Nassiri, and also with Subhasish Bose, who is leading from the back,” he said.

“Every team goes through a bad phase, but they will surely bounce back in the second leg of the season. They need to believe in themselves to get back to where they were,” he signed off.

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