Undefeated Bagan coach shrugs off talk of complacency

January 21, 2017 01:46 am | Updated 01:46 am IST - CHENNAI:

HOLDING COURT: Mohun Bagan players are all ears as coach Sanjoy Sen discusses strategy on the eve of the match against Chennai City FC on Friday.

HOLDING COURT: Mohun Bagan players are all ears as coach Sanjoy Sen discusses strategy on the eve of the match against Chennai City FC on Friday.

On the eve of his team’s fourth I-League game, against Chennai City FC here on Saturday, Mohun Bagan coach Sanjoy Sen dismissed any talk of complacency — his team has won all its games without conceding a single goal as opposed to the host that has only conceded goals so far!

“Every match is important. We’re not thinking about what happened in the last three games. We’re looking to win the match, and there’s no doubt it’ll not be an easy match,” he said.

From the evidence of the results so far, he was asked if the season’s headed for a two-way title race between his team and Bengaluru FC. He said it’s premature to think about it now.

“I don’t think so. There are still a lot of matches to come. This season’s new teams are yet to get settled. If you look at Chennai City FC and Churchill Brothers, one can say they’ve improved with every match, and I can say that they’ll keep getting better.”

Edathodika injured

Defender Anas Edathodika, who strained his left knee in the last match against Minerva Punjab FC, seemed to be in discomfort during practice on Friday and was pulled out midway through it.

“I don’t want him to go down just before the match. So I asked him to stop practising. We’ll assess his situation and take a call,” the coach said.

Chennai City coach Robin Charles Raja said they’ve almost acquired a new striker in Tamil Nadu’s Raegan. “If the paperwork’s done, he might play tomorrow,” he said.

He pointed out the strikers in the squad had arrived only three days before the first match of the season, and thus had to take extra time than the others to settle into the team.

He acknowledged that there’s a communication gap between his foreign strikers and Indian midfielders, and added that it’s been looked into.

“I think it’s the language problem between strikers and midfielders. We’ve worked on it.”

He confirmed the injured goalkeeper Karanjit Singh is fit and ready to play, while the team physio has to check on Afghan midfielder Zohid Islam Amiri’s injury status.

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