"Disappointed but it's time to think next" : Coach Juan Ferrando

After a triumphant 1700+ days, Mohun Bagan shockingly lost to their arch rival Emami East Bengal in a closely contested Durand Cup Group Stage game on Saturday ! 

A fully packed Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangyan witnessed a game, which had all the Kolkata Derby classics. 

After analysing the game Mohunbagan coach Juan Ferrando attended the Post Match Press Conference.

Juan Ferrando on what went wrong today :

"We were doing great, after few wrong decisions in 2nd half, East Bengal's attacking and counter attacking suffered us. They had a better offensive transition. They found the goal and after that goal it was difficult for us. Of course we are very disappointed but we need to learn."

Juan Ferrando on his Team :

"Obviously now we will have to think about next. Sometimes it's very difficult to combine a team. Because some players are in CFL, some in Durand Cup. What is good for the players from this (preseason) is, they got to learn. Because there are important matches ahead. We have so many important targets."

"In first half we controlled majority of the game. But second half , during transition, we were not good."

"Yes, we are very much disappointed, but now it's time to think about the next important matches."

"The players need minutes. We are currently in preseason phase. We worked hardly 2 weeks, so the players definitely need to play."

"I told them, for me success from this match is no injuries. There were so many disappointing tackles, coz there's lot of risks for injuries. I'm happy, that there is no important injuries among players."

"I'm very disappointed for the supporters as well. Same for our players. We can't go next without having confidence. We have to work game by game, every game is important."

Juan Ferrando on East Bengal :

(About their gameplay) "Yes obviously I expected. They also have 3 Durand Cup group stage match, same for us as well but our targets are very much different. It's necessary to congratulate them." 

Juan Ferrando on his Next Target :

"The next target for the players is to work game by game. We have to bring best performance in short time. Yes, it's difficult but we are working heavily on it. Durand Cup is important for us, because we got some important minutes."

"This club is playing games within a span of 2/3/4 days. So it's necessary to be smart about the substitution, about the game time, about the line-up, about the timings. If we played only Durand Cup, there would've been a lower risks of injuries.  But we are playing lot of competitions. We have to be smart about our decisions. This is the reason !"

(On Dimi coming on 2nd half) "We are on preseason phase, so it was not possible because of injury risks. It's time to control about who's more fit and who's less." 

(On Thapa's Performance) "Our idea was to give valuable match time to everyone. This is the first time he played this season. Sahal, Jason, Armando, Ashish, Ashique as well. They need time to improve and connect more."

This was Juan Ferrando's post match press conference from Durand Cup Kolkata Derby. Joy Mohun Bagan !