I-League: "It's an advantage to be at the top"- Bengaluru FC coach Ashley Westwood

Ashley Westwood

Bengaluru FC are currently at the top of the league table with 27 points from 13 games. They have come up strongly as one of the favourites to win the title in their debut season. But Bengaluru FC coach is of the view that, it’s still a long way to go and they themselves do not consider to be favorites.

At the pre-match press conference Westwood said, “We are at the top of the league, we have got 11 games to go. After this we have one more home game. So we’ll be left with 9 games, out of which 6 are away. We have the toughest period of the season coming up. So we are certainly not looking at the table. We have so much football to play. So second half of the league will be completely different from the first. It’s an advantage to be at top, but I am not thinking about anything right now.”

Bengaluru FC have developed a considerable fan base. With their overwhelming performances this season, expectations naturally have gone up. When asked whether the expectations were an added pressure, Westwood commented, “We are a new club, as I keep mentioning, we have young players. We are not saying we will win the league, there is no pressure in doing that, but obviously if we keep winning the expectation rises.”

Ashley Westwood regarded this match against East Bengal as one of the toughest in the league.

“Tomorrow is the toughest game, they have the best squad on paper. They have got good Indian players as well as quality foreign players, they are one of the long established clubs of India, so  the pressure will be on them.” Westwood opined.

The coach further mentioned that his team has no fitness issues except Keegan Perreira, who is suffering from a hamstring injury.