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Stephen Constantine is one of the most experienced coaches in the Indian Super League (ISL) this season. He took charge of East Bengal FC this summer and will look to turn around the Kolkata giants' fortunes in the ISL.
However, Constantine insists that it would be nothing short of a miracle if East Bengal manage to qualify for the playoffs in the upcoming season.
In a media interaction at Novotel in Kolkata on Saturday, October 1, he said:
"We have a new team. We are two months behind the other teams. It will be very difficult to qualify for the playoffs."
East Bengal will start their ISL campaign against last season's runners-up Kerala Blasters on Friday, October, 7. Constantine admitted that while it won't be an easy game, he is confident about attaining a positive result in Kerala. He explained:
" All matches are difficult for us. We started practice late. We are going to have a tough season ahead. After the first match, I can tell how prepared my team is. We have played a large number of practice matches. We are improving regularly. Kerala team is good. They have a experienced coach. It will be a tough fight."
He added:
" Kerala crowd will not be a problem. We have a habit of playing in front of packed gallery. We will definitely bring a good result."
Constantine is known to be a perfectionist and is never fully satisfied with preparations. His East Bengal team played four matches in the Durand Cup, drawing twice while winning and losing one game apiece.
Constantine insisted that his team didn't even try to qualify for the next stage as they treated it as a preparatory tournament. He stated in this regard:
" I am never fully satisfied. We won a match in Durand Cup. But that competetion was like four exhibition matches for us. We didn't try to qualify for the next stage. For the first 11 days I just focused on physical training. The real purpose was to keep ourselves fit. It's still going on. The Durand Cup means nothing to me without trophy."
Constantine comments on East Bengal's goalscoring problems
East Bengal struggled in front of goal in the Durand Cup. Apart from the Mumbai City FC match, which the Red and Gold Brigade won 4-3, they couldn't score a goal in the remaining games. But Constantine is satisfied with the team's goalscoring abilities, which has been evident in recent practise games. He said in this regard:
" We scored a lot of goals in the warm-up matches. Hopefully we get goals like these in the ISL also. Actually its a process. Its not possible to achieve everything overnight. It would be great to come back from Kerala without conceding a goal. If we can score it would be better."
East Bengal finished rock-bottom in the ISL table last season, managing just 11 points from 20 games.
