'No excuses, we must work and get three points' - Carles Cuadrat before Punjab tie

East Bengal will miss a few key players in this vital ISL clash.

Carles Cuadrat’s East Bengal are determined to cap off their Indian Super League (ISL) campaign on a high note with a win against Punjab FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi on Wednesday (April 10). A win can help the Red & Gold Brigade secure a place in the ISL playoffs if the other games revolving Chennaiyin FC and NorthEast United go their way.

Carles Cuadrat’s feelings on Punjab FC game and missing key players

Carles Cuadrat is urging his players to fight for the three points only three days after their win over Bengaluru FC. He stated: “We had a day off yesterday and only have one training today, before we play tomorrow. Not a lot of things we could do in the training, but we’ll do an analysis before the game. I hope we can fight for the three points as we have a big motivation to get to the playoffs and I hope the players fight to do that.”

East Bengal are going to be without key Indian players Prabhsukhan Gill and Souvik Chakrabarti due to suspensions. When asked how badly they’ll be missed, the mentor remarked: “It’s a situation we have to try and solve. They’ve been performing very well. But we’ll play with 11 players and the ones coming in will try to help us. No excuses, we must work and get the three points.

“Kamaljit (Singh) has been working very hard all through the season and now that he has an opportunity, I’m sure he’ll help us – no problem about that,” he added.

Punjab FC’s strengths and closed doors situation

The Spaniard is well aware of the threat which Punjab FC possesses in this final match. He explained: “They are having a very good second half of the season. They have a shape right with three foreign attackers, they are scoring goals and creating a lot of problems. It’ll be a very difficult game. When you play with more pressure and can play with a more risky offensive style, it’ll be difficult for us. You can see the work the head coach has been doing all the season; it’s very difficult to come from the I-League to the ISL. They struggled at the start of the season, but you can see how the players improved and I think they have had a very good end to the season.”

Upon being questioned about having to play this match behind closed doors, the tactician stated: “It’ll be difficult to get the mental connection to do that. We always have fans in every place we travel, there are supporters everywhere because we’re a big club. It’ll be difficult. But as there is a high chance for us to be in the playoffs, so I hope we don’t give the closed-doors situation too much importance during the game.”

What has sparked East Bengal’s resurgence?

Carles Cuadrat has cited a favourable run of fixtures as the reason behind East Bengal’s late resurgence in the ISL league stages. He explained: “It’s a question of the calendar. When you have three games in a row against teams who are fighting for the Shield, it’s normal that results aren’t easy to get. It also happened in the first half of the season, when we had to play Goa and Odisha consecutively, but that also happened in the second leg when we played Mohun Bagan, Goa and Odisha.

“It wasn’t easy to get points. A lot of times we were close to getting results, but it wasn’t easy. As we couldn’t get results in the first game, the second game got complicated. Football is a mental game and also a physical one, and we have dealt with that kind of calendar with every game after three days. Also when you are in a bad dynamic, it’s difficult to get something.

“But then we noticed that in the end-of-season calendar with Kerala and Bengaluru, there were options to get points and luckily for us, we gave our 100% in these two games. Now we’ll look to beat Punjab. The positive thing is that they don’t play for the playoffs, so they lack the hunger that we have. But it also would mean they’ll be more relaxed and enjoy the game, which is sometimes good for the players because sometimes without pressure, teams play even better. I hope my players show the consistency, physicality and mental attitude to win the three points. My players can now identify the more important moments of the game and take good decisions for the team, and I hope that can help us in this game,” he also stated.

The Saul Crespo-Victor Vazquez connection

The Spaniard is also delighted with the combination of Saul Crespo and Victor Vazquez after they finally started playing together recently. He commented: “It was important to play with Saul through all February but he got injured. We wanted to pair him up with Victor, because they’re very good players. But injuries happen in football, it’s happened to all teams around the world. I had to make the situation work.

“So when we didn’t have Saul and Victor together, we sometimes put Mahesh inside, put two central defenders, sometimes we put Cleiton and Felicio together in attack. You try to make the tactics work according to the players. I’m happy that we’ve arrived in the last moment of the league stages wih the option to get to the playoffs. That’s good enough. Saul took time to get fit after the injury, and Victor’s last match was in November before signing for us – so these things happen in terms of adapting,” he also quipped.

Praise for Mahitosh Roy

Carles Cuadrat also had praise for youngster Mahitosh Roy ahead of the Punjab FC game, stating: “Mahitosh is having a good season. He played well in the Calcutta Football League and I felt it was a good opportunity in the final bits of the season to have him in the squad. He has chances to be in the squad next season and I want to get him minutes in games. But that’s not been a possibility. There have been situations when we don’t need his help, but maybe tomorrow we need his help.”

Has Cuadrat’s personal targets been met?

When questioned whether his personal targets for his debut East Bengal season have been achieved so far, Cuadrat detailed: “When I took the challenge of managing East Bengal, I knew how difficult it would be. But now at the end of the season, a lot of our objectives have happened. I can see a kind of repair at the club after a lot of seasons. But there is a long way to go to where the club has spent most part of their history. We’ve been a top, top club in Indian football and now we’re in the process of going back there. We want to dominate the ISL. That means a lot of work and a lot of results. As far as we are at this point of the season, there were a lot of times where we weren’t getting some things that happened – like winning a trophy.

“We’ve played 32 games so far and won half of those games, which gives a sensation that there is consistency. When you play 50 games in a season, there is a lot of games where you give performances to get the points and people are happy. It was very special against Bengaluru when we celebrated with supporters at the end of the season. I belong to Barcelona and a lot of times when the referees blow the final whistle, people walk off but supporters here were waiting for the celebration and that is great. I’m happy that people are proud of this team and are coming to watch us in the stadium. But this is only a first step in a long way to try and bring the past glory back to a big club like East Bengal,” he also stated.

Plans for next season

Finally, when questioned on East Bengal’s plans for the 2024-25 season, Carles Cuadrat stated: “I saw a lot of rumours in social media, but we’re working towards next season. It’s a two-year project. I’ve been talking to a lot of players during this season, including Indian players. We’re making our plan. The club is helping me a lot to build our project, and the club, Emami, and management are all taking decisions together.”

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