I-League 2018/19: "You have to give more than 100% against a team like Chennai City FC," says Bagan coach Shankarlal ahead of Sunday's clash

Mohun Bagan will face the likes of league leaders Chennai City FC at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday evening. The 'Mariners’ suffered a humiliating 0-3 defeat to Churchill Brothers FC in the previous match at the same venue. Apart from Haitian winger Sony Norde, everyone failed to perform as per their potential in the previous fixture.

Bagan coach Shankarlal feels that the last match was a rare occasion where the team “collapsed” but hopes to make a strong comeback in the upcoming fixture. During the pre-match press conference, he informed that the Kolkata giants will be eyeing no less than a win in the weekend fixture.

Shankarlal spoke highly of the visiting team and said that they need to push above their weight to overcome the league leaders. Regarding the matter, he said, “When we are facing a team like Chennai City FC, you have to give more than 100% of your effort. To overcome this and make a comeback, we need to give double effort or even more.”

He added by saying, “Chennai City FC is the most consistent team in the I League, they are at the top of the table right now. We need to far them tomorrow. If we don't, it will be a problem for us and Chennai City FC will extend their lead further.”

When asked about the views of the disaster in the last match, he said, “We sat after the loss against Churchill Brothers FC and we discussed. Comparing the previous matches with the last one, our entire team collapsed, not just a single player. That was the root cause of the disaster.

“But still the positivity we gained from the match was impressive. We got 13 corners on that match, apart from Sony's shot which hit the post, we created many opportunities”, added Shankarlal. Mohun Bagan is currently at the fourth spot in the league table with 8 points from 5 matches. A win will put them a comfortable position and close the gap with the leaders.