Hume: ‘Atletico de Kolkata not missing Habas’

Atletico de Kolkata star forward Iain Hume on Tuesday said the club was "not missing" Antonio Habas, under whom the team won the title in the inaugural edition of the Indian Super League.

Published : Oct 18, 2016 19:26 IST , Kolkata

Iain Hume seems to be struggling in front of goal as the 2014 Golden Ball winner, which he bagged during his time at Kerala Blasters FC, has scored only once from four appearances.
Iain Hume seems to be struggling in front of goal as the 2014 Golden Ball winner, which he bagged during his time at Kerala Blasters FC, has scored only once from four appearances.
lightbox-info

Iain Hume seems to be struggling in front of goal as the 2014 Golden Ball winner, which he bagged during his time at Kerala Blasters FC, has scored only once from four appearances.

Atletico de Kolkata star forward Iain Hume on Tuesday said the club was “not missing” Antonio Habas, under whom the team won the title in the inaugural edition of the Indian Super League.

“Habas had success with the team. But we are not missing him because we got a good coach in (Jose Molina),” the Scottish-born Canadian told reporters.

Former Spanish goalkeeper Molina, who has replaced Habas as the Kolkata coach, may seem low profile but Hume pointed out that the team was still unbeaten from four matches.

“We are still unbeaten (one win and three draws), so is he unsuccessful? We are third in the division. We are not winning but we are not losing either,” Hume said.

“Everybody has different personalities. Habas and Molina are good coaches. I wouldn’t say their style is very dissimilar. As persons everybody is different from the other.”

The 32-year-old seems to be struggling in front of goal as the 2014 Golden Ball winner, which he bagged during his time at Kerala Blasters FC, has scored only once from four appearances.

Hume had scored 11 goals last season but his current lean patch is detrimental to ATK’s success with marquee player Helder Postiga recovering from a rib injury.

“I scored my first goal against Mumbai after six matches last season. Here I have already scored a goal and have an assist against the defending champions (Chennaiyin FC). So you never know. We haven’t created too many chances this season,” Hume said.

Urging more spectators to turn up at their adopted home venue — Rabindra Sarobar Stadium — he said, “It’s disappointing to see low turnout for the matches at the new stadium.”

ATK’s match against FC Goa did not witness a full house despite being a Sunday.

“It was disappointing that fans didn’t turn up. When we moved here we thought we could grasp the opportunity to fill a smaller stadium. It’s sad that we cannot fill even a 12,000-odd capacity,” Hume said.

ATK’s original home venue Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Salt Lake is not available this season with renovation work underway for next year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment