In an exclusive chat with 90ndstoppage, Mohammedan SC manager Andrey Chernyshov shared his experience in managing the Kolkata giants for the past 3 seasons. The Russian manager was appointed in the season of 2020–21 and has been managing since, with a short tenure at Belgian club FK Radnicki Belgrade for 18 matches. In the I League season of 2023–24, Mohammedan SC earned 52 points, winning 15 and drawing 7 out of 24 matches. The Russian manager walks us through his experiences in the city, managing the club, and creating milestones with them.
On his experiences in managing Mohammedan SC
When asked about his experiences in managing Mohammedan SC, coach Chernyshov said, “I am really happy with what we did in the last three seasons. We all feel very well because this is a really great club and I am so happy to work at this club because I am surrounded by nice people.” He further added, “When you come to one great club like Mohammedan, you want to give them (the fans) big things. Our players, supporters and management together work to achieve such great results. I am really happy to be a part of this club.“
In his tenure with the Kolkata giants, he managed to break a 40-year-long Calcutta Football League (CFL) drought and then won 3 CFL titles consecutively. In the 2023–24 season, he also won the I League trophy, securing the team’s promotion to the ISL season in 2024–25. This meant that all three Bengal football giants—the Mohunbagan Supergiants, East Bengal FC and Mohammedan SC—would play in the ISL next season.
On scaling up to the ISL level of football and meeting its challenges
After winning the I League season of 2023–24, Chernyshov became the second manager to secure promotion to the ISL, after Staikos Vergetis with Roundglass Punjab in the season of 2022–23. When asked about scaling up to meet the challenges in ISL, the Russian manager said, “This will be a very tough league because most of the Indian players play for the national team and also have good foreigners, which makes a team really strong. But we are happy to be there because we will play on nice stadiums with perfect pitches and go to good cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Goa, and Jamshedpur.“
He further added, “When you are playing football, you always want to be at the top, and we worked very well to be there. And now we need to be ready for this league because it is not going to be an easy one. We will also tell the players to work harder because this is going to be more serious than I League. We will have to win matches and get good results. This is our target.“
The key highlight of the historic title win
When asked to mention his key highlight in winning a national title with Mohammedan after 2013, he said, “It is all hard work. Without hard work, it is nothing. But there are many other important things other than that that are important to winning a title. A team must have good players and a good atmosphere in the dressing room, and we met these conditions. Thanks to our management, we had a squad filled with good players. Also, the whole team came together to win the title. The players, staff and management were together in this because if everyone focuses on something different, there is no sense of togetherness within the club.“
He further said, “When you have a good atmosphere in the dressing room, you can explain to them what you want and how you want to do it. This makes the players start developing the same ideas as the coach, and they also start to believe in you. Also, all our players’ disciplined private lives are important for the club. They must have their food in time, they must have a proper sleep schedule, and they must show up for practice on time.”
On Mohammedan SC management and official’s contribution
When asked about the support from MDSC management, the coach said, “It is important when you have support from the team’s management. When you work as a coach, it is important that you know that the people in management understand you, know what you want, and know how you work. More importantly, it was how they (management) worked this season. They worked perfectly, according to me. They provided us with nice pitches for practice; they provided us with good accommodations and good hotels whenever we travelled, and this was really important.“
Explaining their contribution further, Chernyshov added, “Sometimes people think they can play without things like good hotels and transportation but it is impossible to win something without these facilities. In that regard, I would really like to thank our management. They worked perfectly.“
On staying in Kolkata and the city atmosphere
Manager Andrey Chernyshov has been managing Mohammedan SC since 2021. When asked to shed some light on his experiences in staying in the City of Joy, Kolkata, he said, “Now, I am a part of Kolkata. I have spent almost three years in this city. I have many good places to visit, like coffee shops, restaurants and parks. Kolkata, for me, is my second home. Right now, I am in Moscow, at home with my family, but I am really missing Kolkata. When you live in a city for a long time with good people, you start loving the city and its people. When I came for the first time, it was not easy because of the difference in climate, food and lifestyle, but now it is all good for me.”
In which aspect of the team is he likely to improve during the transfer window?
Upon the promotion from the I League to the ISL, when asked about which area he was particularly interested in improving, he answered, “If you want to play good football in the ISL, you need to improve every aspect. You need to work harder than before and you need to bring more discipline. The players need to understand that this is ISL. Also, you need to look for new players who are ready to strengthen your squad. The squad needs to be good in defence, good in midfield and good in attack. For example, teams like Manchester City and Real Madrid win the Champions League and yet add 2-3 new players to their squad. This is normal in football; you need to keep getting better than before. But most importantly, you need to keep your best players in the team, because when your team plays very well, it will attract the attention of other clubs to take them. So most importantly, you need to keep your best players and then add two, three, or four new players to that squad to make your team stronger.“
On Eddie Hernandez’s performance
One of the most important players for MDSC this season was Honduran striker Eddie Hernández. He scored 13 goals. When asked about his performance, manager said, “I don’t like to talk about individual performances. This is not something I really prefer. It is all about teamwork. This is most important. But about Eddie (Hernández), I can say he played very well this season. He scored many important goals. This is his job—a striker needs to score. When a striker comes on to the pitch, he is not expected to only provide some passes and play football; his primary job is to score goals. In this regard, Eddie did his job pretty well. But, without a good player (with him), he could not have done that. He needed to be with good players and in a good atmosphere, and this is teamwork. We are really happy he scored, but this is his job. It is what you expect from a striker.“
On keeping David Lalhlansanga with the squad amid transfer rumours
Another player of MDSC who really had an excellent season was David Lalhlansanga. With a G/A of 14 on the 2023–24 ISL season, David became the second player to represent the national team in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, along with Edmund Lalrindika from Inter Kashi. Multiple transfer rumours started emerging for the Mohammedan striker. When asked on how confident he is of keeping him with the squad, Chernyshov said, “As I said before, David (Lalhansanga) is a very good player with a really bright future. He needs to work more to get better than before. He has the quality to become one of the best players in India in the long run. We all know that the Indian national team has been facing some issues regarding a good striker and the coach of the national team (Igor Timac) has not had many options. If David keeps working the same way, or maybe more, then he will really be the future of Indian football. I know many clubs would like to take him. Now is a very important time. He needs to make a good decision because sometimes clubs offer a lot of money and later it turns out the player is unhappy. Maybe you don’t get enough game time, and that becomes the start if your downfall. I wish him all the best. Maybe he will stay with us, maybe he will go to another team, but he needs to make one correct decision. But he has really good qualities and has the potential to become one of the best in India.”
On the fans of Mohammedan SC
When asked about the Mohammedan SC fans and their support during their matches, the Russian manager said, “In my first season with Mohammedan SC, people explained to me that the supporters are crazy and they love the club and their players quite a lot. They want the team to win every match and every tournament. This is normal, and all supporters must be like that. People don’t come to see their team lose or draw. Supporters come to see their team win and reach the top. It is like that. Sometimes, it also becomes pressure for the players because you cannot win all matches and supporters need to understand that. The supporters need to know that every player who wear the Mohammedan shirt gives all they have for the club. We are very happy to have supporters. In many occasions, our fans also travel with us to other cities to support the team.“
He further added, “When you go to play in Hyderabad, Kerala or Goa and you see our supporters, it is a really good feeling. When we came back (to Kolkata) from Shillong after winning the championship, we saw many people at the airport who came to meet and celebrate with us. We want to see them in our home matches and our away matches next season, too.“
On facing local rivals East Bengal FC and Mohun Bagan Supergiants next season
Upon securing promotion in the I League, all three Kolkata giants—East Bengal FC, Mohammedan SC, and Mohun Bagan Supergiants—will be playing in the ISL. When asked about his expectations for facing the local giants, he said, “It will be a really interesting set of matches. Now I sit and think which club has 3 big city derbies from a single city. Not many countries have three 3 football giants from a single city. This is very good for the people. This is like a holiday for them. Whenever we play Mohun Bagan (Supergiants) or East Bengal, we know the stadiums will be filled. Although in some matches, it might be more in number for our opponents, in others, our fans will be more in number. This is a really good atmosphere and we would like to show our best football in those matches. This is a really incredible thing for the supporters in Kolkata.”