'They have established players, but we are prepared' - Clifford Miranda ahead of East Bengal clash in ISL 2026-27

East Bengal are the defending champions of the Indian Super League (ISL).

Chennaiyin FC, once two-time champions of the Indian Super League, have fallen well short of the standards expected of them in recent seasons. They have consistently found themselves in the bottom half of the table and are currently placed 12th in the ongoing 2026/27 Indian Super League season.

While Clifford Miranda’s side started the season with a draw against FC Goa, they were comfortably beaten 2-0 by Bengaluru FC in their second game. However, since that defeat, they have looked like a different side, putting in impressive performances against Mohun Bagan SG and Kerala Blasters FC.

Despite these improved performances, they have little to show for their efforts in terms of goals and points. They have collected just one point from a possible six, despite dominating large parts of both games in terms of possession and shots. They lost to the Mariners before settling for a draw against the Blasters at home.

Up next, they face yet another tough challenge at home, this time against an East Bengal side that has been in excellent form in domestic competitions despite struggling to pick up points on the continental stage.

Ahead of the game against the Torch Bearers, Marina Machans head coach Clifford Miranda and winger Brison Fernandes addressed the media. Here’s what they had to say.

Clifford Miranda on East Bengal

East Bengal, the defending champions of the Indian Super League, have enjoyed a stellar domestic season so far, winning the Durand Cup, reaching the final of the IFA Shield and winning both their opening games in the 2026/27 ISL, scoring nine goals in the process.

Despite their struggles to pick up points on the continental stage, Clifford Miranda acknowledged that East Bengal have a very strong squad, possibly one of the best in the league. However, he insisted that he has the players capable of defeating them on the pitch.

“It’s true that East Bengal started the pre-season early and they already have this rhythm. I won’t use the word expensive because that goes in another dimension, but they have established players who have been there for a long time. They have established players who are in terms of market value, much more than most of the teams. I think they along with Mohun Bagan is the best squad. But again, like I always say, football is played on the pitch. On the pitch during those 90 minutes who is more stronger, who is more concentrated, who is more prepared and most importantly who takes the chances and of course, the one who controls the game as well.”,

“There is no denying that they are a good quality team. The fact that they have started the pre-season earlier or they have played games, gives them an advantage wherein they can rotate their squad as they have a settled squad. But it doesn’t make us inferior because I cannot complain about having less pre-season or having not played enough. I think we have had 7-8 weeks of pre-season in which we have played 7 friendly games.”

“So, I have nothing to hide and we are prepared. We are prepared, not just now, we are prepared in the same way we were prepared for the first game against Goa. It’s just that we haven’t been able to find the goals. Otherwise, we are prepared.”, insisted Clifford Miranda.

Clifford Miranda on Emmanuel’s red card

One of the major talking points from the Kerala Blasters game came late in the second half, when the referee showed red cards to Andre Green and Emmanuel Imanishimwe. The latter received a second yellow card, while the former was shown a straight red.

At the time, Green’s red card appeared to be a fair decision, but the decision to send Emmanuel off did not go down well with the Chennaiyin dugout or the fans in the stands. When asked about the incident, Clifford insisted that he did not feel his player deserved to be sent off.

“I don’t think my player was at fault. I saw the television replays and my player wasn’t at fault at all. Everyone makes small faults. The striker was trying to make a run, and he tried to obstruct him. It’s a normal foul and it can even be deemed a foul if the ball was there. The ball was nowhere closer because the Kerala player never played the ball to the striker. So, Emmanuel just tried to block him but the retaliation from the player was not good.

It was the retaliation that got him the red card, and I think it’s kind to make (two red cards) to balance it. That’s why Emmanuel got the yellow card. It was not even a yellow card for me. If my player tells me, I trust my player 100%.”, answered Clifford Miranda

Clifford Miranda on injury news

Clifford Miranda confirmed that Maheson Singh is expected to be the only player unavailable for the upcoming game due to injury. This is a major boost for the Marina Machans, as Nuno Reis is set to return after missing the previous game and replace the suspended Emmanuel Imanishimwe.

Brison Fernandes on returning to the Indian national team set-up

Brison Fernandes, who was part of the initial camps under Khalid Jamil and a regular under former head coach Manolo Márquez, has made a return to the national team set-up. Naushad Moosa has placed his trust in the Goan winger, selecting him for the 2026 SAFF Championship despite his failure to score or register an assist in the 2026/27 ISL so far.

Brison spoke about his return to the Indian national team camp and how he feels about receiving the call-up.

“It’s always a proud feeling for me to go and represent my national team. First, I will focus on this match where we play against East Bengal. Then the next day I will go and I will be very proud to represent my country.”, stated Brison Fernandes.

Clifford Miranda on the need for others to step-up and score, not just Ramon

Chennaiyin FC have struggled to score goals since the start of last season. They signed Ramon Tanque as their sole foreign striker in the hope of addressing their issues in front of goal.

However, the Brazilian striker is yet to find the net, while the Indian forwards have also struggled to step up. Irfan Yadwad has been the most dangerous player in the final third with his attempts and runs but has managed just one goal. Brison, who is known for scoring consistently, has also yet to make his mark in front of goal.

Both Clifford Miranda and Brison Fernandes spoke about the need for the team to step up collectively and score goals rather than depending on a single player in attack.

“It’s important that not just we rely on one but we rely on the other players around him (Ramon). The ones who are playing, especially the offensive players, should start scoring. The problem for us right now is not about creating or getting into positions to score goals. It’s a bit about the final touch, the composure. We require a bit of more composure, calmness and decisiveness in the final third.”

“Not just Raman alone but also whoever gets into the final third. For example, there are moments when Nikola gets into the final third, Ayush gets into the final third, Bhutia gets into the final third and they are not strikers. So, whoever gets into the final third needs to have a bit of more composure and calmness. We need to believe in ourselves a little bit more to push over the line.”, added Clifford Miranda.

Clifford Miranda on possible tactical tweaks

When results and goals are hard to come by, it is natural for a head coach to consider making tactical adjustments in an attempt to address the issues. However, Clifford Miranda insisted that the team had already made such a tweak after the Bengaluru FC game and are now committing more players into the box in an effort to score more goals.

“Since the game against Bengaluru FC, we have made a small twitch. I will not tell you what that twitch is but let the opponent find out what that twitch is. If you have seen our games carefully from Goa till the last game, we have made a twitch where we get more players in the box. Not a big one but a very small twitch. I think it’s effective enough.”, replied Clifford Miranda.

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