Don't think we have problems in attack, claims Stephen Constantine

The coach also said that if the fans are patient, he'll give them what they deserve.

East Bengal began the 2022-23 ISL season in a not-so-bright manner, losing the opening match against KBFC 3-1. They would be looking to make a comeback in the second game, also their first home game, against FC Goa. It is going to be the first game for the Gaurs. Hence, East Bengal may expect their opponents to be a bit rusty and take full advantage if that is the case. One day prior to the match, East Bengal head coach Stephen Constantine addressed the media on 11th October.

Here is what they had to say.

Constantine on his approach to facing FC Goa

As FC Goa sent their reserve side for the Durand Cup, their first eleven is not yet set. It could be a surprise package for East Bengal, in a manner similar to that of facing KBFC. When asked how he is approaching the match, Stephen Constantine said that it is going to be just like any other game.

He said, "Whether we are home or away we always try for three points. We always try to win games. Of course, they have a new coach and I am sure he will try to impress. We know enough about them. We have seen some of them play in the last season. They have several players from last year. Obviously, a new coach means new ideas."

Mistakes to rectify from first game

When asked about what were the negative takeaways from the first outing and how the team is trying to improve upon some of the same, the coach asserted that East Bengal matched KBFC well for around 70 minutes. He then gradually elaborated on which aspects his team had been working on since.

He quoted, 'We are together as a team for the last four weeks. We fought for 70 minutes against Kerala Blasters, who are now together for 2 years. They are with the same coach and similar players. Of course, you cannot build a team in four weeks, We had two players, Tuhin Das and Nunga (Chungnunga), who played for the first time in ISL. We are in a rebuilding process.

He added, "We got some good moments in the first game. I don't say we are anywhere near where we would be at the end of the season. But as I said before, how you start the season is not how you finish. We will get better every week. The players will have a better understanding of what we are asking them to do. They are working very hard and I am very happy with the atmosphere in the team. We have six solid foreign players and a group of Indian players who have something to prove. So, we will continue to work and hopefully, we can grab the three points against Goa and move on."

On eyeing a position among the top six

When asked if East Bengal would eye a top-6 finish, Stephen Constantine said that the team is not looking that far down the season. Instead, they are taking one game at a time.

He said, 'We are not thinking about three to six. We are looking at one game at a time. We do not have the luxury of the budgets of the other teams. Neither do we have the luxury of having two or three months' pre-season. We have had four weeks. If people are expecting East Bengal after four weeks (of pre-season) to be in the top six or the top four, I think we have to be a little bit realistic. For the last two seasons, we did not finish anywhere near this. What has changed? With new players, a new team, a new coach, and a new staff, we need time."

On the strikers, especially Indians, not being effective in the first game

In his reply to a question regarding the effectiveness of the strikers of his team, Stephen Constantine asserted that the strikers are doing good. He also claimed that the team is able to create chances, which is a good sign.

He quoted, "Firstly, Passi is not playing as a striker. Secondly, I did not say we have problems in attack. If you look at all the games in the pre-season, we scored 11 goals and didn't concede any. So, I don't know from where you got the information that we have problems in attack. In the last game, we didn't score early in the game, but we got a goal back. Yet, we lost 3-1. I think Kerala played well. It was our first game in a competitive environment.

"I don't think we have problems in attack. If we didn't score or if we didn't create chances, then I would have agreed. But we are creating chances and we did score in the last game and in all the previous pre-season games. We scored four against Mumbai City in the Durand Cup. So, please don't say we have problems in attack," he opined.

On his choice for left-back

When asked about his first choice of left-back, Constantine backed his decision to play Kyriakou as the left-back over Pritam Singh or Jerry Lalrinzuala. However, he also said that Kyriakou is a versatile footballer who can play across all positions at the back and he is not going to be their established left-back.

He stated, "Pritam Singh was injured, which is why he was not playing. Kyriakou has played left-back for the national team of Cyprus. He was the left-back for the biggest club in Cyprus. He has also played as a right-back and a central defender. So, he can play anywhere across the back. It's about competition, that's it."

On not finding momentum from Durand Cup

While answering a question on why the team was not able to find the momentum that they had found in their Durand Cup match against Mumbai, Stephen Constantine reiterated that East Bengal is only a four-week-old team with a new set of personnel. He said, "When the Durand Cup started, in our first game, we had 18 players. They were friendlies for us. We did not use the Durand Cup to try and qualify or try and win. We used those games to develop fitness and give players game-time. The match against Mumbai City was good. They are a top side in the league and played all of their first team players and there was motivation in the game for us and the boys played well. But it was the Durand Cup, it was not the ISL.

"Since then, we have played four to five friendlies. We did well but the quality of the opposition was not the same as in the ISL. So, I think going to Kerala and getting anything from there is going to be a big task. They have a settled side. Like I said, it was our first game, two players playing for the first time, and we had some players who were a little nervous. I keep repeating this, we are a four weeks' team. We need time to gel in and understand each other. Most teams had three months. It will take time but we will get better as the season goes on. Hopefully, we can be where everyone wants us to be," the tactician added.

Also Read: Preview: Both East Bengal and FC Goa seek resurrection in new ISL season

Constantine's feelings about being East Bengal's coach

When a journalist asked about his feelings about being East Bengal coach, Constantine said that it is a great privilege to be in his position. He quoted, "It is a great privilege to be in this position as coach of East Bengal. I know how important the team is to the community. My old friend Bhowmick (Subhas Bhowmick) would tell me, "you need to come and coach East Bengal one day". It's a massive responsibility. I will do everything I can to restore the pride in East Bengal, but I cannot do this in four to five weeks. It's going to take time.

"I want the fans to support us. We will have some bad times as it is football. We are not going to win 19 games consecutively and win the ISL. We need to understand this. If the fans are patient, I will give them what they deserve. That's the best thing I can promise. To make things right, it takes time. If we understand that, we will be okay. If we are impatient and we want miracles to happen, then we will have a problem," opined Constantine.

Thoughts on FC Goa

Stephen Constantine heaped praise on the FC Goa side when asked for his opinion of Wednesday's opponents. He considered FC Goa to be a good team and expected a strong fight from them on the field. He said, "FC Goa has a new coach. I think they will play some nice football, they have a few very good players. It will be another test for us. There are no easy games as you can see from the results. Last night, Chennaiyin won against ATK Mohun Bagan. In another game, NorthEast narrowly lost. So, both the games had been very tight. So, you cannot disrespect your opponent. You have to play, you have to be on the pitch and that's the only thing that you can control."

On areas of improvement

While answering a question on the departments that needed to be worked on, Stephen Constantine said that actually, all the departments of his team needed to improve. He said, "I will say all departments. We can get better in all departments. We were compact and quite solid for 70 minutes. We conceded the goal and then we kind off lost our shape. Maybe because we wanted to score quickly. Then we conceded another goal. Maybe other teams would have surrendered and conceded four to five goals, but we didn't because we are not that type of a team. We fought back and we scored. Again, we opened up and they had the possibility of a counter through which they punished us, and the game finished 3-1.

"Now, I can tell you that in every game we are going to get better. That is definite, because of the work that the players are putting in every day. We do game analysis, individual analysis, and everything we can. It is not one training session and they go home. There are sessions with individual players. We are working round the clock to improve. We will get better as the season goes on," asserted the mentor.