ISL 7: We are quietly happy, says EB assistant coach Grant
Dec 02, 2020
Panaji (Goa) [India], December 2 : After suffering their second consecutive defeat in the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL) season 7, SC East Bengal's assistant coach Tony Grant said that he is hoping for a quick turnaround in the fortunes of the club.
"We're very happy with the team. We've been training together for such a short time, and when I say that I mean that it is unprecedented, living inside a bubble. Getting just over two-and-a-half weeks, including game time, isn't enough to assess everyone. There are teams that have been preparing for weeks ahead of us. But within a short time, we've shown how we want to play football and what our ideas are. Everyone has bought into it and they are training accordingly. We've been beaten by two of the better teams in the competition, but we had our share of chances to go ahead in both games," the official website of East Bengal quoted Grant as saying.
"There was not too much of difference between the teams, so we are quietly happy. The boys, especially the foreigners, will get fitter as the tournament goes along. Having two games in the first five days doesn't help either. We've seen that with players from other clubs as well, who have suffered injuries. I think in this kind of environment, with so many ninety-minute games being played, there are going to be some injuries," he added.
East Bengal lost their first match against ATK Mohun Bagan 0-2, and then the side stumbled to a 0-3 defeat against Mumbai City FC. Robbie Fowler's East Bengal are currently placed at the last spot in the ISL points table.
"We've eighteen more games to go. We've been on the pitch for two weeks and as I said, the boys have played only two games together since they met each other. We're trying to play football, we're not trying to get eleven bodies behind the ball and play defensively. I think people have seen how we want to play," said Grant.
East Bengal will next take on NorthEast United on Saturday at Tilak Maidan.