Clifford Miranda shares 'important' injury update on Anwar Ali ahead of Mohun Bagan's Kalinga Super Cup campaign

Clifford Miranda also spoke about how it feels to lead a big club like Mohun Bagan.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant are set to embark on a new era after the dismissal of Juan Ferrando and will hope to regain their swagger at the 2024 Kalinga Super Cup. The Mariners are set to face I-League side Sreenidi Deccan in their opener, with Clifford Miranda looking after the side for the time being before Antonio Lopez Habas arrives.

Mohun Bagan ready for Super Cup challenge

Miranda is upset about having 10 first-team players available for the Super Cup, but believes his squad is ready for the challenge ahead. He said: “After the ISL, we got a short break and reassembled. We’ve had a good week’s training and although we have concerns about certain injuries, we are hampered by the unavailability of players due to national duty; we have 7-8 players unavailable and three are injured. We have to accept the reality and see how things evolve with every game at a time. We’ve come here to compete, put in a good account of ourselves and prepare well for the second leg of the ISL.”

Did Clifford Miranda speak with Antonio Habas?

When asked about if he got a chance to speak with Antonio Habas about anything after he became the Mariners’ new head coach, Clifford Miranda stated:  “I have spoken briefly to him and what he has told me I’ll keep to myself. As far as working with Juan, we worked very closely together at Mohun Bagan. We have a very similar way of coaching football and how we look at the game, in terms of offensive and defensive football.”

He added, “There are many ways to play football. We will play the game that brings us closer to winning a football match and improves our chances of winning the cup.”

Praise for Sreenidi Deccan

The Mohun Bagan coach is not taking Sreenidi Deccan’s challenge for granted at all and had praise for the I-League club. He mentioned: “They are a very good team and have 20 points in the league, which is fantastic. There are 13 more games to go and anything can happen with Mohammedan SC seven points above. They’ve been very competitive in the I-League and were leading all through the second half of the I-League last season. They are a team who are equal to the level of ISL teams.”

Formation changes incoming?

When questioned on whether the Mariners will stick to their three-man backline or move to a four-at-the-back shape, the tactician replied: “We’ll find out tomorrow. We are very flexible with our shape. More than the system, it’s important to maintain our style of play. We can change the system to a 3-5-2, 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1, it doesn’t matter.

“The most important is to play good football. We have the option to go with six foreigners, but we also must assess the conditions of the foreigners in terms of their physical fitness. It’s not a matter of concern if we play a four-man or a three-man backline,” he added.

Anwar Ali update and thoughts on coaching Mohun Bagan

Clifford Miranda also hinted that defender Anwar Ali could be back in time for the second half of the ISL. He asserted: “He is injured. He’s there in the squad and working on his own but is not yet jogging. He’s working with the physios, and we’re hoping that he should be back when the ISL begins. But we don’t know yet.”

Finally, when asked about how he feels about coaching a team like Mohun Bagan in the Super Cup, Miranda declared: “For me to be here in this club, which is a historic club, is a big moment. I’m grateful to the club for appointing me as the assistant to Juan Ferrando. Of course, coaching FC Goa was no mere feat because they gave me my first break in coaching and Odisha gave me the chance to coach in the Super Cup.

“In Indian football, if you can get to convince a group of players – irrespective of their nationalities – to play in your way, then this task is not very difficult. The last few results have been disappointing, but before that we had a good run. So hopefully, we’ll be able to head into the ISL in a positive way,” he concluded.

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