Habas: Postiga’s condition to be assessed before match

"We will evaluate the condition of Postiga before the game. He has been training with the team. But ideally he still needs two to three days time to get into good shape," said head coach Antonio Habas.

Helder Postiga of Atletico de Kolkata celebrates a goal during match 1 of the Indian Super League (ISL) season 2 agaist Chennaiyin FC.

Atletico de Kolkata coach Antonio Lopez Habas on Tuesday said that the condition of marquee footballer Helder Postiga will be assessed before the Indian Super League (ISL) tie against Chennaiyin FC and only then will the team management decide to field him or not.

The defending champions and Chennaiyin will lock horns in an encounter at the Salt Lake stadium on Wednesday and ideally Habas would want his marquee player to feature, as he had scored a brace in the first leg in a 3-2 win. But during the match Postiga had to be stretchered off the field with a hamstring injury. He recuperated in Portugal and Spain and then joined the squad a few days back.

“We will evaluate the condition of Postiga before the game. He has been training with the team. But ideally he still needs two to three days time to get into good shape. But whether he will play or not tomorrow will be decided before the match,” Habas told reporters at the pre-match media conference.

Salt Lake has not been a happy hunting ground for ATK this edition as they have lost twice and won once here. And Habas says he doesn’t want to give excuses for the lacklustre show in their own backyard. “No excuses for the bad performances here. The pitch is also not an excuse now as we have had our time to practice on it. Hopefully we will put up a better show tomorrow,” he said.

The Spanish tactician also said that the game would be a tough one but he will leave no stone unturned to grab all three points. “It will be a tough game for us. It will not at all be easy. And we will obviously try very hard to win,” he said.

Habas confirmed that Spanish medio Gavilan Martinez is fit for the clash. Serbian striker Dejan Lekic who has been signed by ATK as a replacement for Josemi, said:” I am only here for a month, hope I can adapt to the conditions in the last few games. Will surely give my best and try and pass my knowledge to the younger players in the squad.”

Habas added that the league is a tiring one with matches stacked one after the other. “The league is tiring. Fatigue and mental tiredness are issues we need to deal with,” concluded the coach.