Mariners kick off their practice session for the 2012-13 season

McDowell Mohun Bagan had their 1st practice session of the 2012-13 session at the club ground today morning. A total number of 26 players were present in today's practice session. Apart from Chief Coach Santosh Kashyap, Assistant Coach Bernard, Goalkeeper Coach Hemanta Dora, Physio cum Rehab Specialist Jonathan Corner, also present was new Fitness Coach Mr. Joseph Ronald D'Argus.

At the beginning, General Secretary Anjan Mitra addressed the players inside the club tent where he reminded the players about the rich history and heritage of the club and that the players should always keep in mind the fact that they are representing the National Football Club of India and that they should behave themselves properly inside the field. This was followed by a self-introduction of the players present.

Amidst huge cheer from the fans and supporters of the club, the team entered the ground to start their training session. There was a brief team meeting at the beginning of the session.

Joseph Arnold conducted a physical training session consisting of stretching, jogging, and other relevant exercises. This was followed by some practice with the ball. Half of the players were seen playing a 6 side match where Manish Bharghav scored a dazzling goal. Denson Devadas looked in great touch along with few newcomers like Bijendra Rai, Lalrin Fela etc. The other players meanwhile were involved with "passing the ball".

Goalkeeper coach Hemanta Dora spent time with 4 goalkeepers of the squad, Arindam Bhattacharya, Shilton Paul, Milton Bhowmick and Naveen Kumar and gave them some practice separately.

Chief Coach Santosh Kashyap was very impressed with the support received from the spectators at today's practice session. He advised the players to reciprocate with a bow at the end of the training and the players did so before leaving the field.

During today's practice, Aiborlang Khongjee received a slight injury in his toe and skipped the training.

Tolgay Ozbey came to the club tent today but did not attend the practice session because of jet lag. President Tutu Bose said that Tolgay will be training with the team from tomorrow itself.

The following players were present in today's practice session: Arindam Bhattacharya, Naveen Kumar, Shilton Paul, Milton Bhowmick, Aiborlang Khongjee, Rajib Ghosh, Nirmal Chhetri, Warundeep Singh, Sourav Chakraborty, Khelemba Meetei, Lalrozama Fanai, Deepak, Mohan Sarkar, Biswajit Saha, Sk. Jewel Raja, Denson Devdas, Manish Maithani, Rahim Nabi, Bijendra Rai, Manish Bharghav, Snehasish Chakraborty, Lalrin Fela, Nirapada Mondal, Arjun Chatterjee, C. S. Sabeeth, and Dipendu Biswas.

Chief Coach Santosh Kashyap said, "I have asked the players to relax and enjoy the training session first, trophies will follow. I have also asked them to remain focused and not to take any extra pressure on themselves."

Regarding Odafa Okolie, he said, "He is a very good player and I am sure he will adjust himself nicely when he joins practice. It will not be a big problem if he skips the preseason camp."

About the dream striking pair of Odafa and Tolgay, he said, "I will change my formation depending on the opponents. It's not that team will always be playing 4-4-2 in all the matches with Tolgay and Odafa as the 2 strikers. I have some other plans in my mind."

When asked about his feeling of joining Mohun Bagan once again, Dipendu Biswas said, "The feeling is exactly the same when I joined Mohun Bagan for the first time. I am feeling the same excitement and I am also very happy. I want to thank the officials of Mohun Bagan for giving me an opportunity once more to play for this club. I might play for a couple of more seasons but I have made up my mind that I will be retiring from Mohun Bagan."

Regarding his target this year, he said, "As a striker, my job is to score goals. Whenever I will get chance, I will try my level best to score."

About Santosh Kashyap he said, "I have played under him in Mahindra United. He is quite a good coach."

Meanwhile, today's meeting of Tolgay Ozbey with East Bengal officials was called off by IFA after East Bengal officials refused to attend the meeting. President Swapan Sadhan Bose blasted at East Bengal officials questioning their honesty. He said, "They are purposefully trying to delay the meeting with Tolgay so that the matter is not solved at an early date."

Santosh Kashyap also informed that McDowell Mohun Bagan will be playing a couple of exhibition matches in Guwahati and Silchar on 2nd and 4th August respectively.