East Bengal coach Stephen Constantine believes it would be an uphill task for his team to qualify for the knock-out round of this season’s ISL, which begins on October 7.
East Bengal will travel to Kochi to play Kerala Blasters.
In the new format, the top two teams at the end of the league stage will automatically qualify for the semi-finals. Teams finishing between third and sixth will feature in a single-leg play-off to determine the other two semi-finalists.
“East Bengal have not performed well for years... We have started two months behind everybody else... I think if we were to qualify it would need a miracle,” Constantine said at a news conference on Saturday.
He, however, promised that his team would give it all. “It will be a real test for us. But then this is what we all want... to be tested every week, every game. We are slowly getting there. One thing I will promise. We will give our fans a good account of ourselves.”
The Englishman, who has been following Indian football for the last 20 years having helmed the national team for the first time in 2002, feels ISL needs to be a 12 or 14-team league with promotion and relegation.
“I think the league should have at least 12 teams... if not 14. There should be promotion and relegation. We need to have competitive football on a weekly basis,” Constantine said.
