The Blues boss admitted that the left-back position has been the team's weak link in the absence of Ashique Kuruniyan....
Bengaluru suffered their second defeat on the trot this season in Indian Super League (ISL) as they went down 0-1 against Jamshedpur on Monday.
The match witnessed end-to-end action throughout the 90 minutes and both teams had their fair share of chances but Jamshedpur came on top in the end thanks to Stephen Eze's goal.
The Blues head coach Carles Cuadrat suggested that his players fought tooth and nail till the very end but unfortunately could not get the desired result.
"It has been really physical but the last game against ATK Mohun Bagan was also very physical. We know that there are tough teams and we accept that. Like the last game, we fought until the end to get something but it was not possible."
Suresh Wangjam is one of the most hard-working players in the Bengaluru team this season but Cuadrat refuted suggestions that his team is dependent on the youngster, "We create chances with Sunil (Chhetri), Cleiton (Silva) and the number nines are doing their job, getting the space for the wingers. It is not about Suresh. He is a great player but we have more players in our squad who can provide us with goals."
The Blues have struggled defensively, especially on the left side, since Ashique Kuruniyan got injured in the Odisha match. Rahul Bheke played as the makeshift left-back in their last two games but has not been able to put up a satisfactory performance.
Cuadrat acknowledged that the left-back position has been a weak link for his team in their last two games but suggested that in the absence of a key player like Ashique, the other players need time to get adjusted.
"We have a situation with Ashique. We are missing a player who was doing really well. He was one of the best players for us and one of the best left-backs in the league this season. But we have to accept that and now try to look at other options. I gave some minutes to Ajith and wanted to try him in that position but it is a new competition for him and he has to get in slowly," said Cuadrat.
The Spanish coach revealed the half time talk he had with his team and suggested that the most important message was to not be frustrated with the missed chances.
"Football is a game of dynamics. When you score one goal you are closer to the second goal and when you are losing chances in the first half, I told them at half time to be positive and to try to be confident.
"When Sunil was missing a goal he was looking dejected, same with Cleiton and Kristian. I told them to keep working even if they missed chances. It is dynamic, whenever you are not scoring you get stressed," Cuadrat said.