Clifford Miranda takes charge of Mohun Bagan Super Giant in Antonio Lopez Habas' absence

Clifford Miranda was seen on the touchline when the Mariners took on Sreenidi Deccan in their opening fixture of the 2024 Indian Super Cup

Mohun Bagan Super Giant assistant coach Clifford Miranda was seen on the touchline when the Mariners faced Sreenidi Deccan in their opening fixture of the ongoing 2024 Indian Super Cup being held in Bhubaneshwar.

Mohun Bagan began their campaign on a winning note, winning 2-1, with the goals coming from Jason Cummings and Armando Sadiku. Although Sreenidi Deccan opened the scoring, they couldn't stop the Kolkata giants from securing all three points from the game.

Due to the absence of a head coach with Antonio Lopez Habas yet to reach India, the 41-year-old Clifford Miranda, who joined Mohun Bagan Super Giant last August, took charge when the current ISL champion faced the I-League outfit tonight.

Speaking at the pre-tournament media interaction on Monday (January 8th), Clifford Miranda said,

"For me to be here at this club, a historical club, it’s a big moment and I am ever so grateful to the club for appointing me as the assistant to Juan Ferrando. For me, this was a big moment. (FC) Goa was no mean feat. They nurtured me, gave me my first break in coaching and Odisha trusted me and gave me to coach the first team in the Super cup"

He further went onto add,

"For me, it’s about the team winning. We won at Odisha last year and I hope that we can repeat the same feat at Mohun Bagan"

Clifford Miranda will be looking to bag yet another Indian Super Cup title

Clifford Miranda guided Odisha FC to their first ever major silverware last year when they defeated Bengaluru FC 2-1 in the 2023 Indian Super Cup final held at Kozhikode. He, thus, became the first Indian coach to win a major trophy for an ISL club.

About the availability of his players heading into the Super Cup, the former India international said,

"We have had a good week’s training and although we have concerns about certain injuries, we are also hampered by the unavailability of players due to national duty. We have seven-eight players unavailable and three injured"

"We have to accept the reality and see how things evolve with every game. We have come here to compete, give a good account of ourselves and prepare well for the second leg of the ISL"

Having suffered three successive defeats in their last three ISL matches towards the end of the first half of this season that led to the departure of coach Juan Ferrando, Mohun Bagan Super Giant will be desperate to turn their fortunes at the 2024 Indian Super Cup.

The players, support staff and fans will be hoping that the team carries forward the much needed momentum gained at the beginning of the tournament.