Ugandan defender Ivan Bukenya to be included in the squad
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East Bengal coach Trevor James Morgan during practice on Friday. Image Source: XtraTime[/caption]Kolkata: The level of expectation from the fans will be sky-kissing when Trevor Morgan's East Bengal will start their Hero I-League campaign against Khalid Jamil's Aizwal FC on Saturday. Though the East Bengal coach is claiming, "We are strong contenders this season. My effort will be to win it at any cost. I came close to win it for two times in my career but couldn't win it. But at the same time it won't hamper my sleep if I don't win it." When the expectation level is so high, the remarks from the Red & Gold gaffer won't please the fans at all before starting the journey.
The training session in the morning indicated that Wedson will be the lone foreigner featuring for Trevor's side tomorrow. But the gaffer keeps the mystery in the press conference by saying, "Wedson will be there in the squad. That's it." The Red & Gold boss also mentioned, "Defender Bukenye too might be there in the squad. But Plaza is extremely tired as he has jet lag for long travel. He won't be playing tomorrow." He added, "Both the players have good bio-data. Plaza played for the Trinidad & Tobago National team and Bukenye played in the highest division leagues of South Africa. So, in terms of quality there won't be any issues."
The coach apparently seemed tentative about the conditions of the domestic players as well. He said, "We have new players this season from different provinces. Tomorrow's game will tell us in which condition they are in at the moment." He also added, "This would be an open battle this season. Any team can be a contender. The last few seasons are prime examples of that."
Aizwal coach Khalid Jamil will play his trademark defensive football in the first game, as he said, "They are one of the contenders this season. A very strong side with quality foreigners. My focus will be to get a point from this game."
On the other hand, East Bengal's midfield general Mehtab Hossain was unhappy about the playing surface at Barasat. He said,"I'm not happy about the fact that we need to play on the artificial turf. This is a kind of surface which lead the players to get injured. The first match will be tough but we are ready."
Sitting alongside Trevor Morgan, the experienced midfielder also stated, "People claim I can only play well when Trevor Morgan is in charge of the team. The recently concluded Hero ISL has proven my quality as a footballer under Steve Coppell. I played consistently well throughout to help my team to reach the final. My focus would be to maintain the form."
The press conference has made it clear that it would be the battle between Trevor Morgan's attacking football versus Khaid Jamil's defensive tactics tomorrow at Barasat in the opening game of the I-League 2017.
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