Goa: SC East Bengal coach Robbie Fowler was left shattered after his team’s frustrating 0-3 defeat to Mumbai City FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) on Tuesday(December 1) at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim, Goa.
The result meant East Bengal stand now at the bottom of the points table after two games with a goal difference of minus five. “I am devastated myself. I hope players are hurting as much as me. We have to go again in 4-5 days. We are still coaching players, in all honesty, some Indian players look like they haven’t been coached before,” the former Liverpool star took his frustration out on the Indian players’ display.
“We trying to get them to play in our system and the intricate passing we do. We have to learn pretty quick. We have to be better,” he added.
The Englishman opened up quite fairly about his side weaknesses, “We will coach the players because, in all fairness, few of them have probably never been coached before and that is what we are doing. We will try and make our Indian players better and that takes good coaching and I don’t think they had had that in the years gone by,” Fowler said.
East Bengal were exposed badly in their first two games particularly in both the flanks with full-backs Narayan Das and Surchandara Singh unable to complete their defensive duties especially against the long ball being played by the opponents over the top.
Asking about this, Fowler stated, “In all honesty, I will love to have them in all areas of the park. But I can’t complain because we have what we have. Individual errors have cost us. The ball over the top in the first game and same again today. When you make errors against a quality side you get punished. Two goals conceded today were our mistakes. We have to work and try to lift them.”
