OFF TO WORK AND AT WORK: East Bengal’s new coach Carlos Roberto Pereira da Silva leaves for the club ground on a metered taxi for his first day at work. The taxi, of course, was arranged by the club. (Picture below) The Brazilian keeps a close vigil on his wards during practice on Saturday. Pictures by Gautam Bose and Santosh Ghosh

Calcutta: East Bengal’s new Brazilian coach Carlos Roberto Pereira da Silva seemed in no mood to waste time on his first day in office. Accompanied by technical manager Tarun Dey, the Brazilian watched the players practice at the club ground on Saturday morning for close to one-and-a-half hours.

Sitting in a section of the galleries, he kept himself busy by making a note of the proceedings. He arrived in a cab and was cheered on by hundred-odd supporters who had gathered to have a first-hand view.

“We need to work very hard since we don’t have much time on our hands,” said the Brazilian after the training session.

After getting a feel of the players and conditions, Pereira took charge from assistant coach Bikash Panji towards the closing stages of the session. He stressed on the need to play one-touch football though the pathetic ground conditions made things tough for the players.

For the Brazilian, this was also an opportunity to get a feel of the fitness level of the players. “The team is technically good, but we have to work hard on our fitness level,” he remarked.

The fitness level seems to be a matter of concern for him and he is planning for two-practise sessions daily from next week. “We have to work hard on every aspect of the game and I think training twice daily is the best option in hand.”

Despite his critical reservations, the Brazilian coach mentioned that new recruits Hardip Saini and Tariq Ahmed were impressive during practice.

For now, the Brazilian is not looking at short-term goals ? the CFL Premier Division is not on his list of priorities. “Results cannot be achieved overnight? If we work hard the results will come automatically.”

East Bengal have a pretty young side, and Pereira feels that it won’t be a problem for him. Even the absence of foreigners isn’t worrying him. “I have to see if I require any foreign recruit for any particular position. I’ll then sit down with the officials and chalk out the course of action.”

For the Brazilian, recruiting players from his native country is on his agenda. He, however, seemed satisfied with his coaching staff.

Meanwhile, Debobrata Roy injured his neck during practice. His injury, however, was not found out to be a serious one.