It's a dangerous match for us, cautions Antonio Habas

The Spaniard is wary of the threat East Bengal can pose on the derby day.

ATK Mohun Bagan aim to do the double over rivals SC East Bengal in the Indian Super League (ISL), when they face-off in the second Kolkata Derby of the season on Friday. Antonio Habas and Co. head into the game having won their last four games in a row and wanting to create a bigger difference at the top of the league table.

Different clash from first game

Antonio Habas is wary of how difficult it’ll be to defeat the Red and Gold and drew parallels to the changes that have occurred since the Mariners defeated them early in the season. He said, “I think that was a different match, the one we played at the start of the season. The targets for both teams are different, but the idea of both East Bengal and ATKMB is to win three points. There’s no change in that aspect."

“We have the confidence to think about the possibility to win. But, also East Bengal will be gunning for a win,” he added.

Thoughts on Roy Krishna

The coach also praised Roy Krishna’s excellent form right now, but doesn’t believe his team will be overly dependent on him to win them the game. He said, “I think Roy is playing some fantastic football at the moment. But, it’s very important for us to not depend entirely on him. For Roy to have a good performance, we need to have rest 10 players behind him to perform well and have good discipline. I am repeating that I’m very happy with Roy’s performances and the idea for me is for him to continue this form until the final.”

But, Antonio Habas is not giving away any of his plans for the game, refusing to comment whether he’ll play both Manvir Singh and Marcelinho alongside the striker. He explained, “I don’t know because I haven’t made the final decisions yet. Now we have to specify what the plan is for the match. I have to take a decision only tomorrow."

Thoughts on Fowler's ban

The Spaniard was also asked about whether the absence of Robbie Fowler on the East Bengal bench – due to him being suspended – will be an advantage for his side. He said, “No, it’s a very complicated situation. It’s too much stressful to be in the terrace for the game. It’s not possible to give directives from the stands. That’s the situation. But, I don’t think that will pose any advantage for us.”

A need for balance

Antonio Habas reiterated his side’s want to maintain balance in their footballing style in the derby, saying, “The idea is to attack and defend. When the opposition has the ball, we have to defend and when we have the ball we have to attack. The middle part is always the most important in football, which is the transition from one thing into another. The balance in transition, from attack to defend and from defend to attack. That’s the most important thing in football. When we recover the ball, it’s the most important moment to attack.”

The ATKMB coach was also posed with an interesting question about which he prefers more – clean-sheets or wins for his side. He answered, “Both! Because I prefer clean-sheets and winning 1-0 or 2-0.”

The danger of derby with table repercussions

Despite ATKMB being on the top spot in the ISL and East Bengal being in the bottom half, Antonio Habas believes all this goes out the window when a derby approaches and it’ll be as challenging a task as ever. He explained, “No, because the derby is a different thing. The attitude of the players is at a high level. It’s different than any other match. You have the possibility to solve your situation or solve your season with one win. It’s a dangerous match for us!”

The Spaniard also believes a win is crucial for the Mariners to stamp their authority at the top of the table and said, “That is our idea. We are thinking about taking things one game at a time. We go to the next match with the same idea, as we had in our last matches – which is to get all three points – with respect to the opponent.”

Message to fans

Finally, Antonio Habas gave his own message to the ATKMB fans before the derby, saying, “My message is to believe in us! We can lose, draw or win, but all the time, the supporters will be important to the performance or to the form or discipline of the team.”

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