Amidst sadness of missing out on the I-League title by a whisker, Mohun Bagan coach Sanjoy Sen tried to remain optimistic after his club defeated Chennai City FC 2-1 in its last league engagement at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium here to finish runner-up for the second time in a row.
After Mohun Bagan gathered 36 points to remain one point behind eventual champion Aizawl FC, Sen said his team would now try to put up a better show in the Federation Cup, starting in Cuttack within a week’s time. “We will bounce back and win the Federation Cup and try to lessen the sadness of our fans and club officials. We have to remain motivated,” said Sen about the team, which is the defending champion at the Federation Cup.
Sen said Bagan did a good job to win its last match. “We did not think about what was not in our hand (the impact of the result of Aizawl versus Shillong Lajong match). We fought well. Winning the match was our primary target and we achieved it.”
According to Sen, Mohun Bagan, which won the title in 2014-15, performed better in previous years. “In terms of performance, this is the worst among the last three years. We are disappointed that we could not rise to the expectation of our fans and officials. But you get what you deserve.
“We could have won more matches. I don’t believe in star players, I believe in a team. We struggled against smaller teams. We will analyse our performance after May 31.”
Sen pointed out that unlike in Europe finishing second was not taken as a good performance in India.
Nevertheless, the Mariners coach was gracious enough to congratulate new I-League champion. “I must give credit to Aizawl. They won 11 matches, which is more than what we won. They deserved it. It is good for Indian football,” said Sen.
Comments
SHARE