SC East Bengal head coach Robbie Fowler questioned the standards of some of the players in the squad after his team's 3-2 defeat to Hyderabad FC in the Indian Super League (ISL 2020-21) on Tuesday at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco.
East Bengal remains bottom of the table after five matches with just a solitary point to its name.
"It is what it is, we’ve got the squad. Every game we play we mix and match and are trying to give everyone a chance and a start. It’s up to the players to try and initiate. And look, people can throw everything at me, but I am picking the team from what I see in the training. But the lads have to earn the shirt on a matchday.
"The players are not letting me down, they are letting themselves down and the fantastic fans of this club down. The performance of some players is not good enough, it’s not ISL standard," said Fowler in the post-match presentation.
AS IT HAPPENED | Hyderabad FC vs East Bengal
East Bengal took the lead, scoring its first goal of the season, against Hyderabad in the first half before being blown away in the second period.
"I don't know actually know where to start. We come on here and say the same things over and over again. I think our players need to concentrate a little bit more and concentrate for the full 90 minutes.
"We’re trying hard but we were just not good enough, it’s as simple as that. We can make excuses, of course, but there are reasons. We had two and a half weeks with a team that was gauged for the I-League. A lot of our players are struggling now in the ISL. That’s what we are all seeing," he said.
"We train well but some players don't do as well when we play matches. I don’t really know what else to do. We give them everything and we are here for them. But performance-wise in games, they haven’t been good enough. Ultimately the recruitment has not been kind to us," he added.
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The Liverpool legend elaborated that his side needed to work on its concentration and confidence levels.
"I actually don’t think we were that good in the first half as well. We were fortunate to to go up 1-0... it was a case of luck. We sort of bucked up a little and needed to sort out our concentration levels. The game was there for us. We knew what we needed to do.
"Ultimately, the first 10 minutes in the second half, the players switched off. Our confidence levels…you can make all you want of our confidence levels. The fact of the matter is the concentration levels are not what they are and that’s the simple thing."
The Red and Golds next face Kerala Blasters on Sunday as they aim for its first win of the campaign.
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