Upset with result, happy with team says Juan Ferrando after HFC loss

The Mariners' head coach shared his thoughts on several important aspects of ATK Mohun Bagan's season.

ATK Mohun Bagan failed to mount a comeback in the second leg of their Indian Super League (ISL) semi-final clash against Hyderabad FC – winning the game 1-0 but losing the tie 2-3 on aggregate. Roy Krishna managed to score in the 79th minute, but that was not enough for Juan Ferrando's side to book a place in the final.

After the match, ATKMB head coach Juan Ferrando spoke at the post-match press conference.

Thoughts on the result

ATK Mohun Bagan were quite unlucky in the game and played relatively well. However, they ended up missing a few key chances and were unlucky with few refereeing calls too. Summing up his feelings on the result, manager Juan Ferrando said after the game, “To be honest, I’m very disappointed and very frustrated because we lost the league championship in the last game and now we lose the semi-finals. Of course, I’m not happy about the result, but my feelings about the team is that I’m very happy with them.

“They work a lot in difficult situations, undergoing hard quarantine, changing their styles with a change in coach, they tried to do the best in everything. I’m happy for them, but I’m very disappointed and upset for our supporters because it’s important is to get trophies in difficult moments and to enjoy with the fans and with this club,” he added.

Rating his own work at ATK Mohun Bagan

When asked about how he rates his own work in helping get the Mariners from seventh place into the semi-finals, the Spaniard explained, “The players and the coaching staff try to do the best every day. For me, that is incredible. It’s not just the players who are in the starting lineup, but those among the substitutes or even those out of the squad, they are very close to us, towards working every day with a good face and a positive mentality.

"For me, it was incredible to work with this team because I’ve only worked three months. But, in the end, our feelings today is difficult to understand.”

Eyes on AFC Cup preparations

ATK Mohun Bagan are back in action in the AFC Cup on 12th April, which means there is no time to rest. Speaking on his plans for that, Juan Ferrando said, “My plan is to work in pre-season. Of course, I’m talking with the owners and upper management to prepare for the pre-season. Of course, the players need rest and need to stay close to their families because that is very important.

“Then in 5-6 days we have to start with the team on pre-season, work hard because in front of us is a big challenge, an international competition and it’s important for us to play in such a competition. Everyone has to be ready and put focus in the next challenge,” he concluded.

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