'This East Bengal team is built for I-League' - Robbie Fowler demands improvement after defeat against Hyderabad

East Bengal head coach Robbie Fowler feels his current squad was recruited with the I-League in mind and that the players must step up to perform at the level required in the Indian Super League (ISL).

His team succumbed to a  2-3 defeat against Hyderabad in the 2020-21 ISL clash at the Tilak Maidan in Goa on Tuesday.

The Kolkata giants were leading at the half-time after Jacques Maghoma broke the deadlock in the 26th minute. Aridane Santana then scored twice in the second-half and Halicharan Nazaray netted the third to pull off a stunning comeback. Maghoma pulled one back for East Bengal in the 81st minute but it was not enough to help the side add a point to their tally. 

Fowler did not mince words about his team's performance. The Red and Golds are winless after playing five matches and currently sit at the bottom of the table

ISL

"I just think we are a team that is built for the I-League. The recruitment process for this team was for the I-League and then we catapulted to the ISL. Now it's up to the players to show that they are good enough for the ISL," Fowler said after the game. 

The 45-year-old also said that East Bengal showed they can score goals but needs to concentrate better in games. 

"We could do a lot better. We scored a couple of goals, which is obviously a positive to us. We proved that we can score goals and now we need to improve our concentration levels. 10 minutes after half-time you concede two goals which is obviously not what we wanted. We started well, took a lead and just switched off."

He further added, "Well, I think we need to obviously improve massively. Look it's still not over. We have a lot of points to play for. We have a lot of performances left in us. See from that team formation and the players playing in that we have got a lot of work to do. I'm going to talk to the players. A few of them are not doing themselves any favour at the moment."

Fowler also urged his players to pick themselves up and focus in the next matches instead of ruing the defeat as he believes that things can still be turned around.

"We have to pick ourselves. It's not about soaking and crying. We have to just get on with it. We have to take it, it can be changed, we have to get better. We have to be sensible. We have to be cleaver," said the East Bengal manager.

Chasing their first win of the season, East Bengal will now take on Kerala Blasters on Sunday.