Antonio Habas: We're ready to field new bunch of 11 players

The Spaniard addressed the media ahead of the game against Jamshedpur FC.

“It’s very important to start the competition with three clean sheets. The team acquires confidence and the urge to progress and this is the best way for improvement. Secondly, it's tactical discipline and effort that helps you do better on the field,” said Antonio Lopez Habas as the ATK Mohun Bagan set sights on their fourth consecutive win of Indian Super League (ISL) 2020-21 season against Jamshedpur FC. The Kolkata giants are on an unbeatable run since the start of the season with their latest hard-fought win against Odisha FC last week.

Speaking about the busy fixture ahead for the Mariners, Antonio Habas said, “It’s a very complicated situation. We will have just a few days for the players to recover. But, I think we have very good depth in our squad and we are ready to field a new bunch of fresh 11 players.”

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He further added, “This is the competition, this is football after COVID-19 so we are no way here to come up with excuses,” when asked about the challenges considering the short time he got to prepare for Men of Steel.

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Quizzed about the injury updates of his team, the Spaniard said, “They are improving with their rehab process and the injuries not being so serious, I expect they can play the next match.” 

ATK Mohun Bagan has been heavily dependent on their star striker Roy Krishna for scoring goals three out of the four goals they have netted so far, have come from the Fijian. Speaking on the forward’s form, the Spaniard said, “Roy is a fantastic player. He knows how to score and he has a strong mentality and I think he doesn’t feel any pressure doing things that he loves the most.”

The club had a bit of hiccup while playing against Odisha as they starved for a goal till injury time as Krishna scored the winner with a terrific header in the 93rd minute. Defensively, they have been one of the best sides this season with three back-to-back clean sheets. But, it’s the midfield that has raised some concerns to the Mariners’ think tank. Antonio Habas says, “I think we have to work on creating a better midfield play in the central department. We need to be more creative in there.” 

Assessing the opponents, he seemed to be quite grounded. “JFC will be a difficult team for us. They are desperate to win games and I see every team is in similar condition in the league this season. It’s going to be a tough and competitive game for both sides,” concluded Antonio Habas.