Atlético De Kolkata’s goalkeeping coach Deshi Bhaktawer appeared confident in the side’s ability to qualify for the top four ahead of their game against Mumbai City FC. He also exhibited caution when he spoke about the dangers that the bottom-placed side could pose. Speaking ahead of Kolkata’s encounter with Mumbai City at the DY Patil Sports Stadium, the South African stated that the team would be going for a win, “If you observe the behaviour of the technical staff, you will notice that each of us is extremely hungry to win and very motivated to do well. This is passed on to our players too, I hope.”Needing a draw to qualify for the top four, Atlético De Kolkata opted to give the on-ground training session a miss and decided to partake in some high-intensity gym sessions. “All our gym sessions are highly intense and very tactically detailed. It is as good as the lads training on the field. We are confident that giving the on-field training a miss will not matter that much. You also have to take into consideration the amount of traveling that each team does. The players need to recover from the traveling as well as the closely scheduled games,” Bhaktawer explained.Bhaktawer also responded to a question about Fikru’s form by stating that the striker was giving it his all for the team. “Lack of goals is not the right way to judge his performances. Every striker goes through a lean patch, but look at the amount of running that he does, the defensive side to his game. His ability to carry the ball also creates space for our other attacking players. I am very happy with his performances so far. He is a real team man.” He also explained that the team was not too worried about the mathematics involved in the semi-final qualification scrap, “Look, all we are thinking about is tomorrow’s game. The league has been such an intense one. Every day the scenario changes. We would like to focus on the game rather than all the calculations.”Atlético’s team manager, Rajat Ghosh Dastidar, who also attended the press conference, dismissed the notion of Kolkata taking Mumbai lightly, “Mumbai have been unfortunate in this tournament, but they have some fantastic players. Even if their top players do not play, I know some of the boys who will replace them. A team becomes more dangerous in this case, because all these boys will be raring to go and show everyone that they deserve to be out there. Mumbai wouldn’t want us to beat them again, so I am sure that it will be a tough game for us tomorrow. But I know that if we perform anywhere close to our fullest potential, we can obtain a positive result.”Dastidar also elaborated on the fact that the Hero Indian Super League had been a wonderful journey for the entire team and everyone involved with it, “As a team, we have all been privileged to be a part of it. It has been a wonderful tournament and we all have learnt a lot from it. I believe that it is a boon for Indian football and we would want to work on our grassroots programmes to ensure that all the learnings are transmitted to the young kids.”
