The Boss Discusses A Hard-Earned Point In A Tough Away Clash In Guwahati…

On the performance against the Highlanders…

I am very happy with my team’s performance. We were up against a very tough team at a very difficult venue. Despite some injuries in our squad, we have been very competitive and working very well as a unit. Neither team created many chances, which means both teams were doing a good job in staying compact at the back.

I’m glad that my players stuck to our plan and we were trying to take advantage of offensive transitions and set-pieces, and we went really close on one occasion. NorthEast were also trying to take advantage of the offensive transitions and on one such move, they got their goal. Most of the times, it’s the team that scores first that takes the win in these games, so we’re happy to rescue a point. At the end, we’re satisfied with our performance and the point that we were able to earn.

On whether NorthEast United’s performance came as a surprise…

We weren’t surprised with their performance tonight because we had an idea of how they would play, given the analysis that we had done with my assistant Gerard. As I said, these are the kind of games where scoring first gives you an advantage and that’s what happened.

On Provat Lakra’s injury impacting the game…

I don’t think the injury had too much of an impact on the game. They have good players to bring on and still play at a similar level they were playing in before. I think our substitutions worked really well for us. Chencho got us the crucial goal and another substitute Kean Lewis sent the cross in to Chhetri who set up the goal. We can be happy with the fact that the things we tried to change the game with worked.

On the impact of the late goal in the dressing room…

It brings happiness for sure. When you’re playing back-to-back games, you become mentally tough. We had to put in a lot of effort as a team after conceding a late equaliser ourselves against Jamshedpur. Since that game, we’ve been stronger in the final minutes and today’s goal just shows that our players are putting that effort right till the end.

On the long international break…

I am sure that the break will have an impact on the momentum. But that’s not just us, but for every team. It’s the way the competition works, and let’s hope that there are no injuries when our players return from the National team in January.