"All matches equally important"- Stephen Constantine ahead of derby

East Bengal will be facing ATK Mohun Bagan in the Indian Super League on the 29th of October, Saturday at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata. Prior to the famed Kolkata derby, the Red and Gold Brigade's head coach Stephen Constantine sat down with the East Bengal media team to have a chat.

On season's first win

East Bengal recorded their first points, and win, against NorthEast United FC in the 3-1 win over the Highlanders. "We practiced very hard for a week before the NorthEast match. The coaches are also working hard with the players. A team has many important tasks besides matches and practice.

I am very happy to get the first win of the season. Hopefully we'll make more progress in the next few weeks. Our opponents created two good chances, but we didn't let them score. We started the second half very well and Kiriakou scored a superb goal to give us a 2-0 lead. As soon as that goal was scored, it was clear that we were playing for 3 points," the coach summarised the win.

On the derby

"All matches are equally important for me. But it goes without saying that big matches have a different significance. We will go into this match with a win and a lot of confidence. Hopefully we will leave the field with three points on Saturday," Constantine said.

However, the challenge of some players not being accustomed to playing some big ocassions might be detrimental for the fledgling team. This, the coach believes, is out of his control. "These things are beyond our control. If they don't have derby experience, they will get that experience on the 29th. Those who deserve the opportunity will get the opportunity on that day. Hope they give their best and we can reach our goal," the coach concluded.