A point is better than nothing, underscores Clifford Miranda

The former India international also reflected on his role at the club.

FC Goa and Clifford Miranda played their seventh match in the Indian Super League against Odisha FC. Prior to the match, a few days back, FC Goa saw a change at the helm with Derrick Pereira replacing Juan Ferrando who left for ATK Mohun Bagan. Pereira was spotted on the bench against Odisha.

The Gaurs shared the spoils with the Juggernauts as the match ended in a 1-1 draw. Ivan Gonzalez gave Goa the lead in the 42nd minute. However, Odisha FC equalized in the 53rd minute, courtesy Jonathas de Jesus.

FC Goa’s assistant coach Clifford Miranda attended the post-match press conference:

Rating the team’s performance

FC Goa did play some good football. When asked to rate his team’s performance, the assistant coach asserted, “Definitely not out best performance, but then we appreciate the fighting spirit of the players – the way they kept on going till the end.

"It was a good thing to see. It shows we are a good team and united. Of course, never happy when the team does not play up to the best. But then sometimes, in the end, a point is better than nothing.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0hOpqWATy8

Coping up with the transition

As mentioned earlier, FC Goa have seen a managerial appointment a few days back. When asked about how the team coped up during the last week as well as in terms of their performance against Odisha FC, Miranda stated, “It is normal whenever there is a change in the dugout, there has to be some issues and problems. But then, in the end, the players are older and mature enough to handle things. We can see the spirit in the team. In the end, it was not our best performance but a decent one, considering the circumstances.”

Things to work on

Goa need to work on a few things in order to excel further. The assistant coach mentioned, “To be honest, in my opinion, we have a few. Every team has a few. It is normal. But now, it is for the head coach to decide as to how he wants to work.

"The first thing is to identify the problems which of course, we will brief him. Then as to how to solve them. Now it is his prerogative.”

Clifford’s role at club

For quite some time now, Clifford Miranda has been an assistant to the head coaches at FC Goa. A former India international himself, Miranda has surely learnt a lot from the people he has assisted.

When asked about his role at the club, Miranda replied, “For me, it is my job. I take pride in doing my job to the best of my ability. Whether it was Sergio (Lobera), Juan or Derrick now. I enjoyed working with all of them. Specially, I loved working with Juan because he is the one who really trusted, love and respected me. He respected my work. I’ve had a very good productive working relationship with him; even a better personal relationship with him.

"Of course, I respect Sergio and Derrick as well and have good relationship with them. For me the best relationship, both working and personal, was with Juan. He gave me a big role in this FC Goa team for one and a half year. I will always be thankful to him. I have nothing but love, respect and credit to him.”

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