Here's how East Bengal are preparing for Mumbai City, tells Robbie Fowler

The Englishman expressed his thoughts on his side's performance against ATK Mohun Bagan.

“They are a very good team and have got a talented and experienced head coach. We will try going out and put on a performance that we could be proud of and that's our aim. We will try to stop all the good things that they can do,” said SC East Bengal head coach Robbie Fowler on Mumbai City FC, ahead of their second clash of the season in the Indian Super League (ISL).

After a loss to arch-rivals ATK Mohun Bagan in the first match of the season, the centurion club are all set to face their next challenge. Asked about the takeaways from the last match, the Red and Gold boss said, “The result was disappointing. We know that we did go to the game to try to win it. But, we can take a lot of positives from the way we played.”

He further added, “We are a new team that is gelling. I think we have gelled together pretty quick, considering the short pre-season of two and a half weeks.”

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Speaking on his gameplan and expectations from the squad, the Liverpool legend said, “That was the first time we played this season and we showed an impressive performance. We tried to get our identity with the kind of game we played and I think people did see a few good glimpses in the game.”

ATK Mohun Bagan turned out to be a bit heavy on the Fowler-led side last week, as the three-time ISL champions sealed the game with less possession yet two valuable goals. Asked about his assessment of the game, the 45-year-old seemed quite satisfied with his team. He said, “To put in a performance like that against the team who were champions, I think was not bad. It was a difficult result for us, as we failed to earn goals. As you know, ATKMB is a team who shuts their game after getting the goal. So from next time, we will try to get the first goal.”

East Bengal were lacking in their attacking third, as they failed to score any goals in their debut match. Though the Red and Gold created a few chances, they weren't sharp enough to go past the opposition goalkeeper. Ahead of their second face-off, Robbie Fowler seemed to be concerned about his team's offensive abilities as he wishes to change his gameplan. “Yes, of course we know what we have got to do, as every game is different.” He added, “The plan is to go and score, but sometimes it doesn't happen. Look, it wasn't lucky for us, as we tried with plenty of shots. It's just one game we haven't scored. We had a great performance, we created chances and I hope these chances will soon turn into goals.”

Moreover, he highly-rated Sergio Lobera, as he sees his opposite number as one of the smartest in the league. ”He brought with him a set of players from his last club and we respect them absolutely, as any other team in the league. It's going to be a tough game like every game of the season.“

“I am happy with all my players. We need to come out of this segregation of foreign and Indian players. We are a team with a bunch of capable footballers who aim to stick together and perform well on the field,” said the Englishman while expressing his thoughts on the Indian contingent’s performance.

Asked whether the loss against ATK Mohun Bagan will have an impact tough to deal with, Robbie Fowler said, “I don't think that. I think what we remember from the last game is we have put on a good performance. It's okay we lost a game, but look it was marginal.”