ISL
"Don't know if he has a future at East Bengal"- Stephen Constantine on Ankit Mukherjee
The East Bengal coach didn't hold back on his player's antics off the pitch.
East Bengal racked up a rare win in the Indian Super League after birthday boy Cleiton Silva scored the solitary goal against Kerala Blasters to give his team their 5th win of the 2022-23 campaign on Friday.
While there were a lot of positives to be taken from the gritty performance shown by the boys in Red and Gold, one certain incident has certainly marred the momentous occassion. Early on in the game, defender Ankit Mukherjee was subbed off, who was then seen furiously throwing away his jersey.
"Ankit had a hamstring injury, but he was insisting he was fine. Three big mistakes later I decided to take him off as we could have conceded a goal. I'm pretty sure the club will take action against him as this is the second time he's thrown the shirt like that. I don't know if he has a future at East Bengal anymore," said a very to-the-point Stephen Constantine on his 16th minute substitution.
It was debut day for new signing Jake Jervis who showed moments of brightness up front, alongside Silva. "Before when I would drop deep and look up, there would be no one there. Now I have Jake to look for," the Brazilian said about his new striking partner.
"Till now, Cleiton would play against two defenders alone. Jake will now attract at least one defender away, and I can bet my money on Cleiton on a one-on-one against anyone in the league," the coach further added.
The refereeing in this match had its fair share of contentious moments, but the English tactician refused to comment on the same. "I don't want to talk about referees. They have a tough job. Do they make mistakes? Yes. Do they cost us games? Yes. I hope VAR comes as it will be a massive help for Indian football," Constantine commented.
