“If we want to achieve something this year, we can’t give away goals,” says Mumbai City FC boss Des Buckingham ahead of Bengaluru FC clash

Mumbai City FC are the only team apart from Hyderabad FC to have not registered a defeat;. Currently the Islanders are high on confidence as they defeated Chennaiyin FC 6-2 with plenty of players getting onto the scoresheet. It was surely a morale boosting win but Des Buckingham and his men are looking at the upcoming Bengaluru FC clash.

While Buckingham was happy to score six goals and comeback from a two goal deficit against the Marina Machans, he also demands some defensive stability from his men. The Islanders have scored the maximum number of goals till now in the league proving how menacing their forward line can be. But Buckingham would be more pleased if their defense also starts producing clean sheets.

Speaking about the last match, Buckingham shared how Chennaiyin FC started the game better than them. But once they got back in the game they definitely had a stronger impact and eventually scored six goals.

“We were happy at the end of the game, certainly with the second half and the impact that we had. But if we want to achieve things this year, we can’t give away the goals that we did. Chennaiyin FC started better and it took us time to get into the game. But as soon as we got back into the game, I was very happy with how we played and approached things,” Buckingham stated.

Buckingham opened up on how the team environment is top notch as players are fighting with each other to get a place in the starting eleven and even if the ones who aren’t starting are trying to make an impact when coming on as a substitute. It is the commitment of doing something significant for the club that has made this team so good.

“The good thing is that we have got them all fit and there is competition across each position in our team. When we are playing, we are playing well. Of course, it’s up to the players to fight for the starting spots but what’s been pleasing is that when players who haven’t been starting games as much as they have wanted to, they have come and had a good impact. This is so important not just in games that have gone by, but also in games that are to come. We are not a team of individuals and we need everyone who is in our squad,” the English tactician highlighted.

Lastly speaking about Bengaluru FC, Buckingham shared how they need to be wary of Roy Krishna and Sunill Chhetri in attack as they can cause problems for them. Our approach doesn’t change too often. We have a way that we want to playing with the ball and how we want to play without the ball. We have to be wary of other teams like Bengaluru FC have Roy Krishna and Sunil Chhetri. But they also have other players that can cause problems,” the Mumbai City FC boss opened up.

Although the focus will be on the attacking duo, the Englishman understands how Bengaluru FC can be a side to be reckoned with. So he will surely take extra care especially in fortifying the defence.