Ahead of our must-win clash, Manolo Marquez speaks about the pressure on his side, the strategy against Goa and more…

On the result against ATKMB…

It was a really good performance from my boys. It is difficult to play with 10-men for 86+ minutes of a football game and against a side that wanted the win to the League Winners’ Shield. ATK Mohun Bagan needed an injury-time equalizer to take the point so it was a really hard result to take. But performance-wise, I could not ask for more from my team.

On the mood in the camp ahead of #FCGHFC…

We do not want to take too much pressure before the game and every player here is currently in the right frame of mind. It would have been better if the other results went our way but now we know what we need from our last league game and we are ready to fight till the final whistle.

On the challenge ahead…

Some say that Goa have a weak defence, but they have now scored 31 goals in the ISL campaign. For me, Goa are a really strong side, with a lot of really good players. But like every team, they have strengths and weaknesses and we will try to find these weaknesses tomorrow.

On plans to keep Igor Angulo quiet…

We know he is a dangerous centre-forward. He missed a couple of games so is not the top goal scorer in the league yet and I hope he does not add to his tally tomorrow. He is an excellent striker with a lot of experience. But we have no specific strategies to keep just him out of the game. Goa are a really strong side and have lots of players who can score goals. So yes, we need to be ready and play a good game.

A word on Laxmikant Kattimani…

There are two important things I want to talk about. One is confidence. In everything you do in life, not just in football, if you are confident, you will be successful. The other thing is this stigma among supporters who remember the one bad thing you did, even if you were spotless for most of your career.

For me, Kattimani is a really good keeper, the best suited for our style of play. Of course, he can make mistakes, like referees, like players or like coaches. But at the moment, we are happy to have him in our side.

On the absence of key players…

Of course, we would want Asish Rai, Chinglensana Singh and Aridane Santana to play. But my team has shown this season that no single player is too important for the club. We have played without these players before and we won’t think about it too much now.

They are important for us but the real strength of this side is that the players are really brave and confident. So we will put out our best XI and will try to win the game.