Manoranjan talks business
Manoranjan Bhattacharjee won many a day for East Bengal standing like a rock in defence.
Calcutta: Manoranjan Bhattacharjee won many a day for East Bengal standing like a rock in defence. But never did he face a challenge like the one he is confronted with right now.
Having accepted the job of coaching East Bengal for the remainder of the I-League, Manoranjan has to pull the team out of a deep hole and help it avoid relegation. The red-and-golds have lost seven of their 11 matches and have eight points in the kitty.
To top it, East Bengal’s first game with Manoranjan at the helm is against Mohun Bagan.
“All seven matches are important to us, I’m not attaching any special importance to the Mohun Bagan game only,” Manoranjan said at a press conference on Thursday evening.
“My main aim would be to bring the team back in peak form… I don’t want to set any targets in terms of points, we would obviously like to get as many as we can.”
The very fact that East Bengal won the Federation Cup indicated that the team was not such a bad one. “There must be some problem which is affecting the team’s performance… I’ll know it only after interacting with the players for a few days and am sure we’ll be able to overcome it,” said the coach.
“There will definitely be some pressure on the team, on me… But I’ve been through similar situations in my playing days, like the one in 1979 when we didn’t win a single tournament despite having the best team. I know how to deal with such pressures.”
He didn’t believe that anyone could create a rift between local players and outstation ones, as was one of the charges against predecessor Subrata Bhattacharya.
Terming Mohun Bagan as a very good side, the new coach said the green-and-maroons were playing as a unit. “They are one of the best teams in the country… they have many mature players, many matchwinners… it will be a very tough match for us.”
He didn’t feel the need to talk to Subrata or call him for a joint session with the players before working with the team. “The players will motivate themselves… self-motivation is the best motivation.”
Manoranjan used to be a man of few words. On Friday, he didn’t duck a single bouncer. More importantly, he came across as a man who knew what he was talking about. East Bengal need such a man at the helm.