Aizawl FC coach rues bad conversion rate, thanks travelling fans and promises a turnaround
THE AIZAWL FC head coach Manuel Retamero Fraile said after the match that he was happy with the way his team had held up for most of the game, but said they needed to convert their chances against big teams like East Bengal to earn positive results.
The Spanish gaffer emphasized on the positives to be taken away from this game,
"I need to talk to the players about the positives from this game... we played against East Bengal, a big team. I need to tell them, don't worry. I know it's disappointing. But I'm proud of my players."
But he lamented for once again being let down by failure to convert chances; something that has become a pattern with the newly promoted club,
"We need to convert the chances we get. Because it's a big team. Maybe with other teams you can get more chances and score one or two. But with this team, it's very hard. Today they didn't have their first choice keeper but the other keeper (Luis Barreto) played well... we played like we could take a minimum of 1 point until they scored the first goal... we lacked precision. Our players are new in this division, and you can see it. We need to check the video of this game and correct the mistakes we made. We need to take the positives but also consider where we went wrong."
Fraile said he could see his squad improve further from here, and said his targets for this teams were realistic. He added that the team needs to have more consistency in their performance from match to match,
"I don't want the moon. I want the normal things for my team, so they improve very fast. I'm happy with the way they played, obviously not with the result... we played very well against the big teams. But we need to keep up to this level against other teams in order to get those points. We beat DSK Shivajians then faltered against Sporting Clube de Goa. I know it's very difficult but the keeping the balance is very important."
The Aizawl FC coach has often rotated the team, and done things most coaches in other I-League clubs don't do if they can help it; like leaving out fit foreign players from the first eleven. When asked about that, Fraile replied,
"I have confidence in my players, regardless of whether they're foreigner or local. I have rotated the squad and everyone has got some minutes under their belt. I saw Larinpuia all season, including the Mizoram Premier League, so he knows what I want. That's why I used him here."
He added that the players, most of whom have never played top division football before, needed to enjoy this opportunity and come to love it enough to want to stay here for good,
"We need to enjoy the opportunities. We have only so much time to get it right. So if you are in the penalty area, you have to shoot fast. You must have the goal in your mind. If you're back in the defence you must give it everything."
Asked whether the injury to Alfred Jaryan brought down their team (as they conceded the first goal minutes after the Liberian striker was stretched off), he replied,
"Jaryan's injury didn't cost us. We were tired, playing against a big team, and paid for it... he has only suffered a little bit muscle pain. But it's too early to talk about it."
Later on, Fraile was full of praise for the 200-odd Aizawl FC supporters who had travelled to the game and vocally supported them with chants and songs throughout the game,
"I love our fans and I'm proud of them. They always back us and push us and we try hard every time for them. I want to thank them for coming all the way and supporting us here. I know that soon we'll return the favour by winning more points."
