Bengal coach Ranjan Bhattacharya wants his players to play for themselves in the Santosh Trophy final against Kerala and if they can do that he believes the team will bag the trophy for the 33rd time on Monday.

“I have a simple message for my footballers. ‘If you do well in the tournament you will get good offers from ISL and I-League clubs. And that offer would definitely secure your future. So, you don’t have to think for Bengal, you just think about yourself and that will serve the purpose’,” Bhattacharya told The Telegraph from Malappuram on Saturday.

Bengal defeated Manipur 3-0 in the second semi-final on Friday, while Kerala had trounced Karnataka 7-3 on Thursday.

In the group-stage match Bengal had lost 0-2 to the hosts. Bhattacharya thinks that setback will motivate the players on Monday. “I can’t guarantee that Bengal will win the Santosh Trophy but I can assure we will create more chances than our rivals.

“Group match and a final are not the same. We have learnt from our mistakes and will not repeat those,” the Bengal coach said.

Bhattacharya said Bengal had to overcome various challenges to come this far in the tournament and he doesn’t want a fumble in the final.

“Nowadays it is not easy to build a squad for the Santosh Trophy.

“Players are busy playing other tournaments. So, from the beginning my focus was to choose a player who was ready to give it all.”

“If you look at my players, they are young and energetic. That is what I want as a coach. If we can play according to our potential we will make our state proud,” he said.

“We are having a wonderful tournament till now. The team want to finish on a high,” the coach said.