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  [caption id="attachment_12252" align="alignnone" width="580"] Trevor Morgan with the support staff of East Bengal during training today. Image Source: Xtra Time[/caption]

Kolkata: Trevor James Morgan got down to training with the East Bengal footballers at the Howrah stadium on Tuesday morning. The British coach surprised all the Red and Gold footballers as he was in his customary shorts at the training pitch. Morgan, who arrived late last night was supposed to take over as the coach after the Shillong Lajong match in I League. But the gaffer could not stay away from the footballers of his former club. Morgan was in a relaxed mood as he faced the media after the practice session. Here are the excerpts:

Q: Are you little bit nostalgic beginning your second stint with East Bengal?

Morgan: It’s a great feeling. It has been almost 3 years since I left East Bengal. It is nice to be back here again with same old bunch of guys.

Q: Is your contract ready with the club?

Morgan: No, it is not yet done. But will be done soon. I am not looking into those matters. It is the club officials who are looking into that matter.

Q: What is your target for East Bengal?

Morgan: First of all, we have to win the Shillong Lajong match to see where we finish in the I League table. But we also have to look into the Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC tie to confirm our position.

Q: Do you have any idea about Shillong Lajong FC?

Morgan: They are a formidable side with some good foreigners. Penn and Uilliams are two of them. Shillong is a difficult place to play as the pitch is on a high altitude. So we need to be very careful.

Q: The core team of East Bengal has been the same since last five or six years. How are looking into it?

Morgan: That is the plus point for me. The players have been always known to me courtesy of ISL and my last stint to East Bengal. This will be the biggest advantage for me.

Q: How are you preparing yourself for Federation Cup?

Morgan: As I have said earlier, I am concentrating on the Shillong Lajong match which is an important game for us. Then I will think of Federation Cup. I have made some plans for this season as well as for next season. First things first, we need to win the last match of I League. This time round Fed Cup will have a different format, so all the matches are knock-out for me.

Q: It seemed the body language of the players has changed completely which was missing completely in the last few matches. What is your view on that?

Morgan: I cannot comment on what has happened previously. But today I did not find anything wrong. They were looking pretty much relaxed.

Q: What will be the message from you for all the East Bengal supporters?

Morgan: Keep supporting and be by the side of East Bengal. Sometimes we will win and sometimes we may lose. The most important thing we need is the support from the fans.

According to Santosh Bhattacharya, the football secretary of the club, “We will have a one year contract with him and his contract with Kerala Blasters won’t be an issue.”