Don’t understand how you can play one match after 48 hours, fumes Antonio Habas ahead of Kerala Blasters clash

Mohun Bagan boss Antonio Habas also spoke about Kerala Blasters’ home crowd and the stadium’s atmosphere.

Mohun Bagan look to head into the March international break on a high note with a win over Kerala Blasters in their upcoming Indian Super League (ISL) clash at Kochi on Wednesday (March 13).

With clinching the coveted ISL shield for the first time in his mind, Mohun Bagan head coach Antonio Habas addressed the media ahead of vital clash against Kerala Blasters FC.

Habas unimpressed with scheduling issues

Antonio Habas is not happy that his side has to play against the Blasters just two days after winning the Kolkata Derby against East Bengal. He said before the game: “The derby has been left in the stadium and now we need to immediately think about the next match. It’s very difficult for us, not to train and leave for the airport to travel there soon.

“I don’t understand, how you can play one match after 48 hours or so. It’s very difficult for us, but we are professionals and know the conditions of the rules. But the rules need to be the same for everyone, that is fair. Today, we can work on our recovery from the last match and also think about the match plan for Kerala. This will be a difficult match for us and for them,” he added.

Reflection on Kerala Blasters’ home crowd

The Spaniard also opened up on the atmosphere in Kerala Blasters’ home stadium due to their passionate supporters. He stated: “They have a good atmosphere and we need to use that for our motivation. We need to change the goal. It’s good to play in front of many supporters, and it’s good to have that kind of fans. It’s good to play Kerala, I know that from the past. We need to be professional and for us it’s fantastic to play under this atmosphere. We need to use the atmosphere to be motivated to win the match.”

No pressure to keep first place

When asked if his side feels the pressure of having to retain the top spot in the ISL table, Antonio Habas replied: “We are under no pressure to keep the top spot. We are going one match at a time. Our target is to win the next match, which is against Kerala. It’s too much pressure for the players and the staff to think of the top spot. We don’t want maximum pressure, we need minimum pressure.”

Thoughts on Sahal’s return to former home

Sahal Abdul Samad will be returning to his former home ground against the Blasters and Habas is urging him to keep calm in the situation. He mentioned: “It’s not like we are playing with one player only, but all eleven. In football, it’s normal to have one player to be in one club and then in another one. I have to try the sentimentality to be positive and not negative. If Sahal played for Kerala last year, I have to ensure that he plays well against them. I hope the same goes for Pritam (Kotal) too.”

Objectives for Kerala Blasters clash

Upon being questioned if he feels confident about the upcoming match, thanks to his solid record against Kerala Blasters, similar to his unbeaten one against East Bengal, the Spanish mentor replied: “Both matches are similar matches in intensity. There are no easy matches for us or the opponents. We must analyze the opponents. We have respect for them and we have prepared for the conditions of their stadium. We know the atmosphere, we know about their team and we need to work on our possibilities too. We have to be intelligent and prepared.”

Finally, Antonio Habas is adamant about targeting all three points ahead of the game, as he said: “Before the match, the idea is to win the three points. After that, depending on how the match went, we could say if a draw was good or not.”

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