I rate Hyderabad FC very highly, states Tony Grant

The assistant coach spoke about his side's preparations ahead of the two crucial games ahead.

"It's not so much that we have found the best XI. There was no game to see what they were capable of. We tried with these conditions and after the two new players came in, the team turned more cohesive and performed better," said SC East Bengal assistant coach Tony Grant in the pre-match press conference ahead of the game against Hyderabad FC in the Indian Super League. The Englishman further praised newly-recruited Sourav Das and Sarthak Golui, as he said, "I have been highly impressed by their performance and they are doing really well in training."

Interesting game ahead

Asked about his thoughts on the opposition, Tony Grant said, "I rate them very highly; higher than most of the clubs who are playing in the league. They have recruited players very well and have some brilliant young Indian players. So, it's going to be a tough game."

He further added, "The last time we played them, we almost gave them a helping hand. They scored two goals in just seconds and it happened due to our poor gameplay. Now, they have a few points more than us and thus have more to hold on to. So, it should be a really interesting game."

Same lineup expected

Speaking of his team's performance in the last game against Jamshedpur, Tony Grant seemed quite satisfied as SC East Bengal are expected to start with the same lineup. He also gave a hint, saying, "We played really well and will like to play the same team. But, we have to find out if we have some knocks or injuries."

Plan to keep ball away from Nizams

"Our approach will be the same as we have done in every game. From Day One, we have setup to play a nice brand of football with high intensity and win the games. Gradually, we have seen improvements, so we will carry on as we are and will try to take away the game from the opposition," told the tactician when asked about SCEB's approach against the Nizams.

Speaking on their tactics, Tony Grant gave an insight into the plan ahead, as he said, "We will try to keep the ball at our feet. Our approach will be if they try to go with the ball, we will keep the ball away from them. Hopefully, the players that we have can cause more problems with the ball than the players they have."

Bookings not an issue

Five East Bengal players have already grabbed three bookings under their names, thus it seems to be a matter of concern for the thin-ktank, with the team all set to face arch-rivals ATK Mohun Bagan in the Kolkata Derby in the coming week. Asked about it, Tony Grant quoted, "It's a problem. It's a part of the game and it also creates a chance for others in the team to come up and prove themselves."

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