I did not pick the squad, says Morgan after loss in derby

EB coach accepts it will be very difficult for his side to win the title

Morgan
The Red and Gold gaffer accepted that it will be very difficult for his side to win the I League. File Pic

Sabyasachi Bagchi, Siliguri: Within minutes after being humbled in the derby, East Bengal Coach Trevor James Morgan has openly blamed the officials for picking the squad for the derby on Sunday. A furious East Bengal Coach blasted the officials for the loss in the derby.

According to Morgan, “Whatever happens, it happens. If the club is not happy with what I am doing, (they can) get rid of me. It’s pretty simple, that’s the same rule all over the world. I’ll be responsible for picking the team not I’m not responsible for the squad. Let me make that clear- its right that I picked the team but I didn’t pick the squad. That was taken out of my hands. You need to know people’s character, what they can do in severe situations, how they can react. But when you are just given the set of tools and said to work with them, it’s very difficult.”

Reacting to Morgan’s commnents, club’s top official said, “Why did he take the responsibility? Now that he has lost the match, he cannot shy away from taking the responsibility.”

On being asked whether it is the end of Morgan’s coaching stint with the Red and Golds, Mr Debabrata Sarkar commented, “Let him first come back to Kolkata. We will sit with him and decide our future action.”

The Red and Gold gaffer accepted that it will be very difficult for his side to win the I League.

“I think it would be very difficult now to go for the title. I can’t see Mohun Bagan slipping now; they are a good side and have players who can turn over the game. They are well organized and they look to be the favorites in the league,” said Morgan after the match to the reporters in Siliguri.

Morgan also admitted that the preparations were severely hampered during the last week. What the gaffer was trying to mean was he did not get the support what he expected from the club officials.

According to the British coach, “Last week has been one of the worst weeks of any football. I can’t say too much but we had a really crack preparation for the game last week. I can’t say because you’d say those are excuses. At the end of the day, the best team won and our preparation wasn’t fantastic.”

East Bengal did start the match on a positive note with both teams having a fair grip over the match. But a sheer brilliance from Sony Norde shattered the morale of the Red and Gold footballers. The gaffer did accept the fact that it was brilliance from Norde that helped Bagan win the game.

“I thought it was even in the first half but Sony (Norde)’s free-kick was superb and the other man put a cross and got it to the top corner. So two-nil down, Willy starts something absolutely ridiculous and gets sent off. Now, we are ten men down against a team that’s two-nil up, that’s very difficult. Had we got the goal maybe five minutes earlier, it would have been a better ending. It wasn’t meant to be,” said Morgan.

The Red and Gold footballers will be returning back tomorrow to Kolkata. On being asked about the remaining matches, Morgan said, “I’ve got no idea about the next game. Let us reach back to Kolkata, you could be asking the question to someone else, next week.”

Speaking about the mood in the dressing room, Morgan commented, “I can’t lose hope. The dressing room is quiet, to say the least. We have had good opportunities before the game; we knew we had a good chance to finish tonight’s game on top of the league. But, we didn’t do it and I didn’t see enough desire.”

Lastly, commenting on the second goal scored by Azharuddin, Morgan said, “Nobody can save that second goal. I was right behind, sitting in the dugout, and as soon as it (the ball) left his foot, it left for the top corner. The goalkeeper can do nothing. Yes, he was at fault for the last goals but today he gets beaten by a 25 yard free-kick and a free goal- that’s absolutely no fault of his.”