ATK Mohun Bagan head coach Juan Ferrando has expressed immense faith in his team and wants them to focus on the minute details in the next game, as his side takes on Odisha FC in match 53 of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 season on Saturday at the PJN Stadium in Fatorda, Goa.

Ferrando heaped praise on his players after their incredible performance against Hyderabad FC in their last game. However, Ferrando urged his team to narrow down on the details whilst playing against Odisha FC, highlighting that they will be a difficult team to get past.

Ahead of his team’s clash against Odisha FC, the Mariners’ head coach addressed the media during a pre-match press conference.

Here are the excerpts from Ferrando’s press conference:

What are your thoughts on the match-up against Odisha FC?

It’s a complicated game because we know Odisha started the season well, it’s a clear team in the attack, in the defense, and on points too. It’s necessary for us to be ready for the 90 minutes and not to lose our focus.

You have to focus on the details because if you watch the last game, for example, they were 2-1 down against Mumbai but they continued with the same plan and then changed the score. It’s especially important in this case because it will be a difficult game against Odisha. 

Are you worried about the constant defensive errors shown by your team?

No; of course, we have a plan and we’re working on it, and we also need to improve on it. Sometimes it’s difficult, like this week because we had to deal with injuries before the game. But I still have 100% trust in my team, and the most important part being that everybody is ready to help the team.

Odisha scored four past Mumbai City FC in their last game. Are you worried about their attacking threat?

I think it’s necessary to pay attention to the details. In their last game against Mumbai, I think Mumbai conceded those two goals towards the end because the transition of Odisha was perfect. So, I think it’s necessary to focus on these details.

ATK Mohun Bagan took the lead twice in the last game against Hyderabad FC and then went down twice, ending up with a draw. What do you think went wrong?

At this moment, of course, we’re upset, but I think it’s necessary to think about a lot of positive things because the team has played well, we have controlled the game with the ball and worked well with the defense. Secondly, after the injury concerns with Carl [McHugh] and Tangri [Deepak Tangri], playing Lenny [Rodrigues] and Kauko [Joni], the level of the team was the same.

Prabir [Das] played very well in the first half at left-back, and then in the second half, Ashutosh [Mehta] played amazingly at right-back. I think the plan with Williams [David] was perfect. Our plan with Roy [Krishna] was incredibly good, putting Hugo [Boumous] as false-nine also helped a lot. The timing of the press was good. We kept the ball better than the last two games.

For me, there exists a lot of positive details, but of course, if you’re only thinking about the score, the moment of the goal is a negative, but for me, there exists more positives than negatives.

ATK Mohun Bagan have been creating a lot of goalscoring chances, but they have failed to capitalize on it. Does it put more pressure on the team?       

No, in my point of view, the problem is when you don’t create chances. We are creating chances, with 20 chances and the quality of the squad that we have, maybe we have two or three goals, but in case of no chances, it’s difficult.

Talking about the last match, how disappointed were you at having lost the opportunity of winning the match? 

Yes, I’m disappointed, but in my mind, I was talking to the players, and the most important thing is to be on top of the table in the last game. When February-March comes, this will be an important moment, to be in first position in the league table. Now, I’m upset because everybody wanted to see ATK Mohun Bagan in first position, but okay, no worries because I think our way is good.