There were speculations about the team's sudden fall in performance but coach Bimal Ghosh is not disappointed. Questions were raised about lack of unity in team, players preoccupied elsewhere etc. In fact, Ghosh and his boys have decided to keep quiet and their fingers crossed. Ghosh is quite hopeful of regaining their lost place in NFL and in the city. He decided to bring some young players this year, who could rejuvenate the side and bring back the much needed self-belief which went for a toss during NFL.

Bungo Singh and Tomba Singh (from Manipur), and Surinder Pal and Paramjeet Singh (both Punjab) should provide Ghosh with more options. The new lot is practicing along with the likes of Godfrey Periera, Khalid Jamil, Khambiton Singh, Radhakrishna Dubey and Subir Sinha where theywill mature.

``The team is raring to perform. The loses we suffered in NFL were not deserving but were due to other reasons which have been settled now,'' Ghosh commented.

TEAM

Goalkeepers: Yusuf Ansari, Partha Das, Israt Kamal. Defenders: Henry Picardo, Subir Sinha, Radhakrishne Dubey, Ogwen D'Souza, Khambiton Singh, Paramjeet Singh, Apurva Choudhary, Kuntal Chakraborty, KK Jayan. Mid-fielders: Godfrey Pereira, Khalid Jamil, Ratan Singh, Dennis George, Tomba Singh, Bungo Singh, Tapas Ghosh, R Kabui, Prem Malhotra. Strikers: Anthony Fernandes, PJ Jose, Surinder Pal, Herbert Philip, Surjeet Tigga.

Factfile

Coach: Bimal Ghosh

New-imports: Bungo Singh, Tomba Singh, PJ Jose, Israt Kamal, Surinder Pal, Prem Malhotra, Herbert Philip, Apurva Choudhary, KK Jayan, R Kabui, Paramjeet Singh.

Players to watch: Khalid Jamil, Anthony Fernandes, Bungo Singh, Tomba Singh.Performance in local league: Finished third behind BMFC and Mahindras (1998-99); champions (1997-98);champions (1996-97).

Performance in other tournaments: Lost to Mahindras in Mammen Mappillai Trophy semi-finals at Kottayam last month.