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East Bengal brought down the curtain on another underwhelming campaign in the ISL with a 2-0 loss against ATK Mohun Bagan in the high-voltage Kolkata Derby on Saturday (February 25).
With defeat in their final ISL 2022-23 game, the Red and Gold Brigade ended their season with a record of six wins, one draw, and 13 losses. At his post-match press conference, head coach Stephen Constantine was questioned by Sportskeeda if he would take these numbers given every turmoil the team went through.
"I hate losing," the East Bengal boss said. "When I look back at this season, in the games we lost to Odisha, the one we lost to Goa, the first one against ATKMB, the two games against Hyderabad, Chennaiyin FC one we should’ve gotten something, and Jamshedpur too. We threw away two points against NorthEast United FC.
"But given the circumstances, this is the best season East Bengal have had in the ISL. Six wins and 13 losses are not good enough to be in the top six.
"Can we get better? For sure. It’s just a case of implementation. The plan and vision are there. Everything is there, we just need to do it. We need to be consistent in our decisions. If we keep changing, we’ll be in the same situation next year."
Constantine was also quizzed about his learnings from the elaborate season, to which he responded:
"I learnt that you got to prepare from way before than we did. We can’t start in August and expect to do anything good."
Opening up about struggles while trying to form a cohesive unit, the English tactician added:
"I’ve been trying to bring in Indian players and identify foreign players since October. We brought in Jake (Jervis), who made a difference for us. I’ve not been able to bring in several of my targeted Indian players.
"We must move quickly, because time is running out and again we’ll be left with players discarded by other teams or look for players in the I-League."
"Unfortunate not to take a point" - East Bengal FC's Stephen Constantine after defeat against ATK Mohun Bagan
In the build-up to the Kolkata derby, an optimistic Stephen Constantine highlighted the multiple positive moments that East Bengal have created over the season. In response to a query about whether there were any such significant moments in the match after the game, the head coach admitted:
"I don't think we had enough of those moments where (we could have changed the match). I don't think we deserved to win this game. But I feel that we were very unfortunate not to take a point from this game."
Stephen Constantine assesses his players following the conclusion of their ISL 2022-23 campaign
After 20 hard-fought matches in ISL 2022-23, East Bengal ended the season in 10th position, just above NorthEast United FC. The Torchbearers were nowhere near the knockout spots and their league campaign has come to a premature end once again.
At the conclusion of their ISL campaign, Constantine was questioned whether any of the Indian players have impressed enough to get a national call-up. He named defender Lalchungnunga, midfielder Mobashir Rahman and forward Naorem Mahesh Singh, stating:
"Lalchungnunga is a very decent prospect. He is a solid defender. He needs work. Of course, he is not the finished article. Mobashir Rahman has been one of our better players in the last five or six games. He may need another good season, but I think he's getting there.
"Naorem Mahesh has done fantastically. I would say those three players for me are worth monitoring. They may not be ready at the moment to go into the full national team, but if they keep improving, next season. I would be picking into the national team."
Mahesh notably finished the league stages as the leading assist provider with seven.
Taking the cue from the previous question, Sportskeeda also asked the East Bengal coach to share his thoughts on the performance of the overseas players.
"When you do things at the last minute, you sometimes don’t have too many choices.
"I thought Jordan (O’Doherty) has done OK. Charis (Kyriakou) has been very good. Ivan (Gonzalez) did OK, but not totally impressive. I think he’s used to a different way of playing. Lima (Alex) has been good, but not as good as he can be. He’s a better player than that."
Constantine was quick to add:
"But we put all the emphasis on the foreigners, the four which play should make a difference. But I must tell you if there are seven Indians, who are driving the car, are of not good quality, then you are bound to struggle."
The problems for East Bengal and their squad are more than evident. What remains to be seen is if Stephen Constantine gets the time and opportunity to fix the gaping holes, given their disappointing first season under his tutelage.
