"It’s not about where you are right now, it’s where you finish"- Mumbai City FC coach ahead of their ISL clash against Kerala Blasters FC

Mumbai City FC will lock horns with Kerala Blasters FC for a second time in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 on Sunday. The first meeting between the two ended with the Yellow Tuskers winning by a three-goal margin.

Since then, the Islanders have struggled to keep their momentum going. The side have had many defensive lapses causing their opponents to hurt them.

Mumbai City FC head coach Des Buckingham and striker Igor Angulo addressed the media through a virtually held press conference ahead of the match. The English coach shared his perspective on his team's slip-ups since the first leg against the Blasters.

He said:

"Rather than just looking at it since we've played Kerala, I look at where we are, where we sit after 11 games and where we sit is joint third in the table and we sit three points behind Kerala who are in the top with nine games to go."

He added:

"We said it’s not about where you are right now. It’s where you finish and we’re in a strong position to make sure that we put ourselves in the position now to go on and finish strong, and that’s important that we go on to do that. So that’s the way we look at things here."

Buckingham addressed the defensive lapses that are currently haunting his side at the back. On this note he said:

"Yes, it’s an area we want to improve. We can’t go through the next nine games conceding the goals that we have, we know that. But also, it’s the same players that we had at the start of the season where they were the ones keeping clean sheets. You know we’ve kept three clean sheets in 11 and didn’t concede those goals in the first six or seven rounds."

He further added:

"So, it’s the same players. We’ve been working very hard on the training field and I’m convinced it’s only a short time away from turning around."

Mumbai City FC players refer to Igor Angulo for lessons on finishing

Igor Angulo has been on target on most occasions for Mumbai City FC this season, scoring eight goals. He has done the same for his previous employer, FC Goa. The Spaniard has been a point of reference to his colleagues in the attacking department. Angulo shared his views on the same.

He said:

"Now that I'm older than them, I have this responsibility, you know, to not to say, to teach the youngsters but yes, I’m reference for some of them. Comfort them to improve the quality of their skill. Also, I’m here for that as well. I think Ygor is a fantastic striker and is improving a lot this year and has a very good future ahead."

The Spaniard added that Mumbai City FC players are all hungry to score for the team and that takes away the burden from him. He stated that the mentality of the group is to function together in every department and excel as a unit.