Head coach Stephen Constantine wants East Bengal to maintain the intensity when they face NorthEast United FC in Wednesday’s ISL IX clash at the Salt Lake Stadium.

East Bengal go into the game after a morale-boosting 1-0 win against Kerala Blasters FC, who are third in the league table with 31 points following their 2-1 win over Chennaiyin FC in Kochi on Tuesday.

NorthEast United, on the other hand, had lost 2-0 to Jamshedpur FC in their previous game and are at rock bottom. Constantine, though, doesn’t want to judge the opposition based on their position in the standings and expects a tough battle.

“I don’t judge teams on paper. I judge them on the field and I think they (NorthEast United) have improved in recent weeks. They brought in two-three players and I don’t judge a team by where they are in the points table,” Constantine said on match-eve.

“All the games in the ISL are difficult games. So we have to be completely focused and play the football that we played last week.”

Out of playoff race

Chennaiyin’s loss to the Blasters on Tuesday meant they are out of the playoff race.

They went on to take the lead as early as the second minute when Abdenasser El Khayati converted. But Adrian Luna restored parity in the 38th minute and Rahul KP scored in the 64th to seal the game for the Blasters.