Antonio Habas: Chennaiyin for me are favourites for the title

The Spaniard spoke ahead of his side's clash against Chennaiyin FC on Tuesday.

ATK Mohun Bagan are beginning to play like champions in the Indian Super League (ISL) and will aim to end the year on a high when they face Chennaiyin FC on Tuesday. Antonio Habas’ side will look to continue their rich vein of form to put more pressure on Mumbai City FC at the top of the table.

Despite ATKMB riding high on momentum, Habas does not want any complacency to set in and ruin their form. He said, “No, we’re never over-confident. We are improving, but we are a long way from our best. The team is performing good, scoring good goals and getting good wins. But, we need to look into our next match against Chennaiyin, which I’m sure will be a difficult match for us.”

Giving a hint on his selection for the game, Habas revealed that he has all his foreigner stars up for selection. He said, “Yes, David Williams is the same as the other foreign players or Indian players, who are very important for us. Now, all the foreign players have recovered from their injury problems and the indian players are also fit. We don’t have anyone injured apart from long-term ones like (Michael) Soosairaj or Jobby Justin. I’m very happy with that situation. We must choose the best players for the first XI.”

When asked about whether the Mariners will stick to their high pressing style to unsettle Chennaiyin, Antonio Habas said, “We can’t predict how we’ll press the opponent before the game. It’ll depend on the planning for the next match. It depends on the characteristics of the opponent and maybe Chennaiyin have different characteristics than Bengaluru. Depending on their characteristics we can choose which style to implement.”

ATK Mohun Bagan return to action after almost a week, while Chennaiyin had played a game only a few days ago. When asked about whether this can give his side an advantage, the Spaniard explained, “Chennaiyin for me are favourites for the title. They were finalists last time around. For me, Chennaiyin are operating at a very high level. We respect the players and coaches of Chennaiyin. I think they’ll be a tough opponent for us.”

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Antonio Habas had defeated Chennaiyin in the ISL final last season as the head coach of the erstwhile ATK. When asked whether this can give his side an edge, the Spaniard said, “No, because it’s a new competition, a new possibility to the team and a team with new players. We know that the problem Chennaiyin will pose for us will be important because they want to win and we also want to win. The small details in the match can maybe give one side the win over the other.”

David Williams feels like the lengthy break for his side will be beneficial and said, “Yes, of course. We’ll be well rested. We got the chance to watch Chennaiyin a few days ago as well. We’ve got time to prepare and feel good for the game.”

The Australian forward is also not too worried about his side’s underwhelming goal-difference and says the team only focuses on getting the win. He stated, “This is a statistic that doesn’t play in our heads too much. We have a job to do and we just need the three points. We don’t care about getting 2-3 every game. Of course it’s nice, but we’ll be more worried about getting the three points in every game this season.”

Williams is among the three ATKMB players, along with Roy Krishna and Manvir Singh, to be the only goalscorers for his side this season. But, he doesn’t feel this adds pressure on them, as he explained, “Of course we’re the attacking players, so we need to do our job. The goalkeeper and defenders are meant to keep clean-sheets. We have specific roles in the team and of course we get more chances, so we have a higher chance of scoring. There is no pressure and I’m pretty sure that our football will result in goals.”