Kolkata:
Bengauluru FC head coach Ashley Westwood today said that his side were under ‘no pressure’ against East Bengal tomorrow after they suffered their first defeat in the ongoing I-League football against Mumbai FC.
“If you look at the League as it is, we’re through a quarter of it and if you win three out of every four games, you’ll win the League. So, there’s no real pressure on us,” Westwood told reporters on the eve of their fifth round clash.
“Statistically you normally win only 25% of your away games; we’ve won 66% of them, so hopefully it will pay dividends at the end of the season,” added the gaffer.
The Blues, with nine points from four games, lead a table that has East Bengal trailing them by only a point and Westwood stated that the Kolkata club looked a more solid unit than last season.
“They have the new Korean lad (Do Dong) ahead and he is quick, while Ranti Martins is physical. They definitely look more solid this season than last,” he said.
The two teams have met four times in the I-League with East Bengal winning three of those games.
However, Bengaluru FC turned the tide the last time with a comprehensive 3-0 result at home.
Tomorrow will be the first time Bengaluru FC play at the Barasat and on being questioned whether his side’s choice of not training at the venue on match eve would make things difficult in terms of acclimatising with the conditions, Westwood brushed aside the suggestion.
“We usually never train at the match venue a day before. There’s a myth in India that you should go and train at the venue before the game but that doesn’t happen in England. I don’t see why it must happen here,” he said.
BFC right-back Rino Anto believes the new additions to the Blues’ squad have only strengthened them since.
“We’ve always been about churning out a good work rate and with our new signings that has only improved. We may not have had the best of outings against East Bengal in the past but we have the quality to change that.”
