Chennaiyin FC's Fighting Spirit: How Miranda's Men Prepare for East Bengal Test

Up against a full-strength Mohun Bagan side, an all-Indian Chennaiyin outfit went toe-to-toe with their opponents for large parts of the contest on a rain-soaked Fatorda pitch. Head coach Clifford Miranda expressed his pride in the team’s effort during their first competitive outing in five months and emphasised the importance of building on that performance ahead of the crucial East Bengal clash.

“We did well against Mohun Bagan, despite not having too many training sessions. The players’ attitude has been great, right from day one and into the match. They did not get bogged down by the challenges and played fearlessly. We did commit some mistakes, but that is bound to happen since we have only been in training for 12 days. They (the players) are trying to understand what I want from them, but it’s working day in, day out, week in week out, to get where we want to be,” Miranda said.

Chennaiyin and East Bengal have met ten times before, with the Marina Machans holding the edge following a commanding 3-0 win in February in the ISL. This will be their first meeting in the Super Cup.

Speaking further on the tie, Miranda added, “The players’ attitude was fantastic. They showed they wanted to play, showed they wanted to defend, that they were ready to suffer without the ball, which was fantastic. It gives me encouragement that we can build something important and worthwhile going forward.”

Echoing Miranda was experienced left-back Mandar Rao Dessai, who started as one of the five in the backline. Mandar remained confident of carrying the same character and togetherness in the next match as he highlighted the team’s performance against Mohun Bagan.

“The effort and character shown by everyone, especially with such a short training period, was truly impressive. We went out there as one united team, playing for the pride of our club, and gave everything we had. The result didn’t go our way, but the performance, togetherness, and spirit gave us plenty of confidence. We’ll carry that belief forward in our next match against East Bengal tomorrow,” he said.

Lastly, Miranda also gave an update on the team, confirming that he will have the full squad at his disposal, despite the team only training together in the past fortnight. Chennaiyin will close their group campaign with a third and final match against Dempo SC on October 31.

- IANS