Start stop ride for Mahindra

Steven Dias and N P Pradeep did return to the Mahindra fold,and the almost-certain turnaround though did occur,with the Mahindra bandwagon finally getting back on track. And after spending a major part of the first phase among the bottom four in the table,the Jeepmen now are all set to finish the season at a respectable fifth or sixth spot,with one game still remaining.

A result that still irks Pereira,who considers a mid-table finish to be not something that a team like Mahindra could be proud of. “Despite our comeback and finishing in the top-half of the table,this would definitely go down as a very disappointing season for us,” he reveals. The veteran coach reminisces not very fondly about the start of the season,and expresses his discontent about the issues that hampered his team’s preparation.

“Because of the whole Steven-Pradeep situation,we could never practice as a team and had to wait almost till the start of the I-league. The torrential rain in the city also made it very difficult to get all our training sessions in order,” says Pereira.

After going down narrowly to Churchill Brothers,who they beat in the Durand Cup final,at Margao in their opening contest of the I-league,Mahindra took on Kolkata’s Chirag at the Cooperage in their first home encounter. A match that the coach would like to forget reveals Pereira,after the home team went down 1-3. “I think we took the game too lightly,especially after going up by a goal in the first half. They hit us on the counterattack for the equalizer,and suddenly we were absolutely wrong-footed,and had already handed them the game,” explains Pereira.

The absence of new-signing,defender Lamine Tamba for the entire first phase also proved to be a decisive problem,believes Pereira. “We were constantly playing around with the XI,and Tamba definitely made a difference after he finally made his appearance for us in the New Year,” he says. The Senegalese youngster though had a long way to go before he got used to the Indian system,adds Pereira. “He is not used to our style of play and secondly is not at all used to our standard of refereeing,and no wonder he ended up missing matches after receiving double-bookings,” he says.

Though the likes of Dias and the supremely talented mid-fielder,Djidja Douhou Pierre kept the opposition defenses busy with their stunning delivery-work,their main target,striker Edeh Chidi proved to be in the middle of a horrible drought. “His form was very worrisome,but I was confident that he would bounce back and find his feet again,” says Pereira.

And Mahindra’s season did improve,once Chidi (presently with nine goals) started finding the back of the net,and they started their slow climb up the league table. “Even though we went into the second phase,eighth in the table,relegation was something that never even entered our thoughts,and we knew that the tide would turn at any time,” says Pereira.

Youngster Justine Stephen,and Sushil Kumar Singh,who finally recovered from his neck injury,were two of the star performers along with Douhou Pierre,believes the unassuming Mahindra coach. “There were others like Sushant Mathew,Subashish Roy and Sukhwinder Singh,who played their part. Pierre was easily the most crucial member of the team despite playing with a niggling shin injury,” he says.

Though fellow city outfit,Mumbai FC,with whom Mahindra are presently tied at 28 points,have nothing much to lose or gain from their final encounter on Thursday,the Jeepmen could spoil Mohun Bagan’s party if they deny them a win. “It is going to be very interesting,as Mohammedan (Sporting) could also do the same to Churchill. But I believe the Goan outfit truly deserve to win the title this time,” he admits.

At the end of a disappointing season,where they also missed out in the Federation Cup,Pereira admits that not achieving an AFC spot was a huge setback for his team. “We have already started planning for the next season,and apart from the AFC spot,the I-league title will also be very firmly in our sights,” he says.

And though weather is something that the ace Mahindra coach may not have too much of a say on,he would at least be hoping that his players remain loyal to the team,in the build-up to the next season. Pereira though is still apprehensive about the latter,laughs nervously as he quips,“Well that is something I cannot guarantee right now.”