"We don’t talk about pressure or confidence" - Mumbai City FC boss Des Buckingham on the preparations ahead of the semi-final tie | ISL 2022-23

After dominating the 2022-23 season of the Indian Super League and winning another Shield, Mumbai City FC are on the cusp of achieving a double. It's a feat they previously accomplished in 2021.

However, a massive challenge from Bengaluru FC awaits them in the semi-finals. The Blues are on a roll towards the back end of the campaign, winning nine consecutive games while conceding just six goals in the process.

Mumbai City FC need to be at their best to defeat Simon Grayson’s resilient Bengaluru FC. Speaking to the press ahead of the crunch game, head coach Des Buckingham opened up on the squad’s preparations for the high-pressure encounter. He also reflected on the importance of focusing on themselves.

"We don’t really talk about it being a semi-final. We don’t talk about pressure or confidence. We just concentrate on our performance," the Mumbai City FC coach said. "We went on to win the league without losing a game. But we talked about our own performances and we’ve got a way that we work.

"We’ve got internal performance measures that we try and meet every game and how we can, if we can deliver on those measures as often as possible, we hope the results will follow."

The Mumbai City FC coach continued and talked about the preparations for the upcoming match.

"That is certainly what has started to show. It’s just reflecting back now on the 20 games, looking at what has gone well and making sure that we continue, trying to prepare ourselves as well as we can for the next game because we’ve shown already in the 20 now, if we can do that, then we’ll put ourselves in the best position to go and secure the double.”

The Islanders were in a league of their own this season and their efforts were rewarded with a trophy. With a winner’s medal already in the bag, Buckingham was quizzed on whether Mumbai City FC could showcase the same determination in the playoff ties.

“There are people who play a lot in their careers and maybe don’t win anything in terms of silverware. So, for us to be able to do that while still being able to chase more, you know, there’s still a lot more that we want to achieve this year and winning the Shield is a good start,” he explained.

"It’s certainly not something we’re going to sit on and try to be happy with. We can be happy with what we’ve achieved but we’ve got some excitement about what is directly in front of us now. We are very much looking forward to the playoff games."

He added:

"We made some decisions in the last games to rest players that were on cards and also potential injuries, whilst also giving a lot of our young players an opportunity to showcase their skills and the hunger each member of this squad has to go and win each game.

"The good thing is we now have everybody available from our squad for that semi-final which is very important to us, especially since how important our squad has been for us this year.”

Mumbai City FC boss Des Buckingham says league form no guarantee of success in play-offs

Mumbai City FC have unquestionably been the best side in the ISL this season as the table displays. However, knockout football can be a cruel game, with past successes completely wiped out. Buckingham spoke about the challenges that his side could face in the two-legged semi-final tie.

“I think season form sometimes can go out of the window during the play-offs phase. Regardless of the team that we play, we’ve shown already this season that against any of those teams we can perform and play well and if you can do that against them in the semi-finals and hold yourself to the measures that we try to put upon ourselves, we will place our team in the best position that you can go and hopefully get the result.

"You never know in the game, but we’ll prepare as well as we can. We have had a good two weeks now where we can sit and watch and see what happens and prepare ourselves as well as we can for those games.”

Mumbai City FC's home ground has been a fortress for the Islanders, as they have only lost once, while winning six on their home ground. Buckingham expressed his gratitude to the loyal supporters, who will once again be in full voice in their last home game of the season against Bengaluru FC.

“After the Shield celebrations and with the knockouts coming up, personally, I want to thank the fans for their support. That Shield was, of course, for them as they’ve not been able to be in a stadium for over two years. So, to be able to come back in the first season and see their team lift the Shield in front of them was a very special moment to share with them.”

Mumbai City FC have been ruthless and determined so far. Nonetheless, after a two-week hiatus, Buckingham and his squad will have to pick up the pace again to seal a spot in the ISL final.