“I will play more in upcoming matches”, asserts Anelka

Its been a season and a half of the Hero Indian Super League and Mumbai City FC are yet to register their first away win. While they have been outplayed in alien conditions often, there gave been occasions like the last game against the Dynamos in Delhi where they were done in by sheer lack of fortune.

Talking to the media, marquee manager Nicolas Anelka expressed disappointment about the result and his own sporadic appearances as a player amongst other things.

Excerpts:

You were seconds away from Mumbai’s 1st away win when Robin Singh netted the equaliser. Disappointed about that?

We came here to win. We did concede a goal in the last minute, its obviously a big disappointment but its part of the game and I am okay with it.

We noticed a heated conversation between you and Roberto Carlos after the match, what was it about?

It will stay between the two of us. If you want, you can ask him though.

You brought in an extra defender for the previous match, do you think that led to the team looking fragile upfront?

It was a tactical choice. if you look at the goal, it’s a mistake. Its part of the game. Yes, I did put up a defensive side but we didn’t have the ball much.

We wanted to play on the counter-attack, that’s how we set up. The tactic worked well. We wanted to get back to Mumbai with our first away win. Sad, but hopefully next time we can emerge victorious.

Would you deem the result was fair then?

No I think we should have won. I won’t say i won’t be happy with a draw but we need to keep going. We have a game at home and let’s try to win the game.

Also there seems to be a lack of coordination between your strikers over the last two games. Do you think you could have scored more?

No, we wanted to play on the counter. We didn’t create many chances. Delhi is a good team.

It was not easy to create chances even after being one ahead. I think Sunil and Sony worked well defensively. I am very happy with that. I think we did everything to score a goal. I think it was a 1-0 game. For me, that scoreline was enough.

Can we expect to see a lot more of you now that Sunil and Norde will be gone?

I need some minutes yes. That’s why I played the last game. I need to work this week because I am not fit enough yet. I am sure though I should be fit soon; so definitely you will see more of me in upcoming matches.