East Bengal head coach and former Read Madrid Castilla coach Alejandro Menendez was quietly confident of his team’s prospects ahead of a crunch top of the table clash against Churchill Brothers. East Bengal are currently on a hot streak of four wins in four games, pushing them all the way up to 3rd in the I-league table with a game in hand over the leaders ahead of them.

            Menendez will be looking to bag a fifth consecutive victory to get level on points with table toppers Chennai City FC. East Bengal have home advantage favoring their quest to go five games unbeaten as well. But the victories have not made the players complacent, according to Alejandro Menendez:

“I think now we have the confidence but not overconfidence. When we analyze the matches, we make sure we control the overconfidence of the players if there is any. We are preparing for them to do well in all the coming matches.”

            One player Menendez will be particularly wary of will be Churchill hitman Willis Plaza. The Trinidadian striker has been in red hot form again this season, scoring 17 goals for the Goan club. When asked about his preparations to stifle Plaza and facing Churchill Brothers, here is what the head coach had to say:

“We have our plans set to win against Churchill Brothers team and not Willis Plaza alone. I prepare for winning matches and when I prepare the defence it is to counter a whole team and not just one player.

This is a difficult team. They have always been very close to the top of the table and they score very easily. If a team scores a lot they are always a dangerous team.”

            East Bengal will be hoping that their star striker Jobby Justin and fiery winger Laldanmwala Ralte are in top nick because they might find it tough to keep a clean sheet against a fiery Churchill attack. Johnny Acosta and Borja Gomez forming an experienced partnership in the centre of defensive, which also makes them susceptible to pace running in behind them.

            East Bengal take on Churchill Brother in Kolkata on Sunday, 17th of February.