ISL 2022-23: This game is as important as the other one – MCFC coach Des Buckingham before Kerala Blasters FC clash

Mumbai City FC head coach Des Buckingham believes the match against Kerala Blasters FC will be as important as the other games. The Islanders have won one match and drawn two and they are still unbeaten in the ninth season of the tournament.

On the other hand, Kerala Blasters FC, the previous season’s runners-up, has won one game and lost two matches.

Des Buckingham is happy with the performance of his team. Mumbai City FC has shared the spoils against Jamshedpur FC and Hyderabad FC and won by 2-0 against Odisha FC.

Rating his team’s performance, Des Buckingham said in the press conference, “I’ll start with the season. We played last year’s champions in Hyderabad and we played last year’s league winners in Jamshedpur. So in three games unbeaten, we’ve come away with a clean sheet. In the game against Odisha FC which we won 2-0, we put ourselves in a good position to start with. I’m happy because obviously, we want more, we will do everything we can to try and continue pushing for more. But in terms of a start to the season, it’s been what I’m happy with.”

Des Buckingham added that they don’t focus on other team’s form and rather they try to bring their A-game to the pitch.

Buckingham said, “We don’t focus on the runs of other teams. The most important thing is when you only have 20 games in any season, it’s making sure that every game is important to each other. For me, it doesn’t matter. We know the qualities Kerala Blasters have and we’re going to need to be on top of our game to stop that, but we also need to continue showing the plan, the football, that we have done not just in the last three games, but throughout the Durand Cup. I’ll go as far back as the AFC Champions League as well. So if we can do that, we’ll be as prepared as we can. And we’re expecting a very good game on Friday.”

Buckingham went on to add that he is expecting a very tough game against Kerala Blasters FC, which have flourished under the tutelage of Ivan Vukomanovic.

Des Buckingham concluded, “A very good one, an exciting one, by the way they have been playing (this season). The way Ivan (Vukomanovic) has them playing, they showed last season how well they can perform if given the opportunity to do that. But so are we. We played some good football, we recruited very well. And we’re obviously 12 months into my tenure here. Plus, I’m a lot clearer on how we want to play and what we want to do. So, hopefully, the consistency of that we’ve already started to show. And that’s going to be so important going in not just against Kerala, but for the 16 games afterwards.”

Mumbai City FC and Kerala Blasters FC will take on each other at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi on Friday.