ATK Mohun Bagan’s head coach Juan Ferrando expressed that he is unhappy with the result as the Mariners lost to NorthEast United FC by a solitary goal in the latest fixture of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati.
A fairly contested match with chances for both teams was decided by NorthEast United FC’s striker Wilmar Jordan as he powered through ATK Mohun Bagan’s defence and slotted past Vishal Kaith in the 69th minute to give the Highlanders’ first win of the season on Saturday as Vincenzo Annese’s men start the second half of the season with an impeccable victory.
“I’m not happy with our performance, obviously the team is not going to lose 20 matches, one day they will get the opportunity to win. Of course, our performance was not good, we gave NorthEast United FC options, to create chances. After the goal the team was not in a good mood, it was difficult for us, we were not able to find spaces and it’s normal because at this moment everybody is under pressure, the match is finished and now it’s time to focus on the next fixture ” Ferrando said in the post-match press conference as read in a statement released by the ISL website.
With its first defeat in the last five matches, ATK Mohun Bagan stayed in the third spot on the ISL points table and with the next match against FC Goa, the team who are just on the tails of the Mariners with a single point between two teams, the head coach added that the team will focus on the next fixture arriving after a two-day gap.
Injuries have limited Juan Ferrando’s options with only three fit foreigners to play and crucial players missing the action with the likes of Joni Kauko, Florentin Pogba set to miss the rest of the season and Hugo Boumous and Manvir Singh still on the road to recovery.
“Of course, the injuries are creating the problems. Today we were not flexible with the substitutions because of the injuries. Last month we only trained with three foreigners but ATK Mohun Bagan suffering with Kauko (Joni) and Pogba (Florentin) are important players for us are out for the season, it is a problem,” he said.
“We need to keep on working and continue to think about the next matches. For me, we are talking about the excuses, of course, I’m disappointed but it’s not possible to say that we lost because of our injuries, I think these are excuses. For the club to improve the most important thing is to not focus on the excuses, instead we need to get up and continue working,” added Ferrando.
ATK Mohun Bagan have confirmed the signing of Slavko Damjanovic on Wednesday and the club will look to sign more players with the January transfer window arriving in a week’s time.
“The team and the club are working to find two foreign players. One is close to Slavko (Damjanovic) but the other we will see. We will see in the coming days but at this moment the club is working this way. We are working to find players mainly to change the mood of the team and to continue working,” said the Spaniard.
“For us it’s very important, in our case I’ve only 17 players in my squad at this moment and for me It’s important because normally you have 22-23 players at your disposal in the training. Just imagine for me at this moment it’s like a Christmas Gift that they are coming” Ferrando added when asked about the importance of the new signings,” he concluded. (ANI)
