Bhaichung Bhutia

Calcutta: Mohun Bagan captain Bhaichung Bhutia on Monday urged teammates to look beyond the fifth consecutive win over East Bengal at the Salt Lake Stadium, hoping the momentum would help them throw a serious challenge to the leaders Dempo in the I-League.

“Beating East Bengal five times in a row is a big achievement. I’m quite happy with the way we played today but we must be aware of the challenges we have to face tomorrow.

“There’s no time to relax now and we should keep the winning momentum going against Air India (in their Round XIII match). We are now one step ahead after beating East Bengal, but if we lose in Mumbai, it will be two steps backward,” Bhaichung told a news conference after the 2-0 win over East Bengal.

The ace striker, who scored both goals, didn’t rue missing a hattrick — a feat which could have made him the only derby player to achieve the landmark for both clubs.

“As we were one-man down (through Douglas da Silva’s red-card), the situation wasn’t worth a wholehearted attacking display. We needed to be cautious at the backline,” he reasoned.

Bhaichung also pointed out that the team was playing as a unit — something which they lacked at the start of the season.

“We were not organised in the beginning. You take time to settle down. Once we beat Salgaocar in the I-League (5-4 in Margao on December 22), we got back our rhythm. Keeping a winning habit intact is a difficult job and we must take extra initiative to maintain it,” he said.

East Bengal, on the other hand, were a picture of complete disorganisation. A host of supporters threw catcalls at the officials and players and demanded the officials’ resignation.

Manoranjan Bhattacharjee admitted he had a steep mountain to climb but didn’t give up hope.

“As far as our survival is concerned, we are now in a critical stage. We still have six matches to go and if we manage 12 points, it will be enough for staying alive. I have hundred per cent belief that we will survive the relegation threat.”

According to him, South African World Cupper McDonald Mukansi, who started as the upfront man but was replaced by Dipendu Biswas in the 70th minute, was better at a supporting role and the team badly missed a positive striker. Injury ruled out striking duo Edmilson and Ashim Biswas in the match.

“We created a number of chances, but we lacked a genuine striker to utilise them,” he said.

“I know I have to continue my fight with these players. I had noticed a few loopholes in the team’s organisation. Hopefully, I can rectify them in the next match and things will fall in place,” he added.