Aidy Boothroyd: Mumbai are really good but nobody is unbeatable

The Jamshedpur FC boss also shed light on Islanders' efficiency from set-pieces.

Jamshedpur FC are set to face Mumbai City in their next Indian Super League (ISL 2022-23) fixture. The 2022-23 season has gone from bad to worse for the reigning ISL Shield winners. While they are most likely out of the race for the playoffs this year, Aidy Boothroyd's side can dampen the spirits of the high-flying Islanders.

Des Buckingham’s men are yet to taste defeat this season, having won 12 and drawn three of their first 15 matches. Aidy Boothroyd is under immense pressure at JFC and will like to give the fans something to celebrate. He spoke about how difficult the upcoming game will be while interacting with the reporters in the pre-match press conference.

He was joined by Harry Sawyer who also answered questions from the media. Here are the excerpts from the conversation:

Aim to win

Aidy Boothroyd refers to the reverse fixture and understands the level of MCFC. He hopes to organise his team in a way where they can secure three points.

In this context, he said, "Jamshedpur, ATKMB and Hyderabad are the teams that have got a point against Mumbai. I think it’s a very difficult game against a very good and well-coached team and very good players. It’ll be a difficult game for us but we love football so much because it can throw up a few things for us and games don’t always go according to form so we have a lot of respect for our opponents but we go in trying to win every single game we play.”

Nobody is unbeatable

The tactician believes that no team is unbeatable and Jamshedpur FC have a realistic chance of emerging as winners against Mumbai City.

“I think you have to adapt to your opponents and be clever with your game plan. They’re a really good team but nobody is unbeatable. Even the best team can always have a bad day, and if we have a good day we might get a result and we’re going to try and do that,” he said while talking about the game plan ahead of the match.

Importance of set-pieces

Aidy Boothroyd expects the game to be close and one that can be decided on a set-piece situation. He said, “Set-pieces have a big effect on most games at this level. Mumbai can score goals from both set plays and open play and we get into good positions too, we’re just missing that final little bit but I’m sure we’ll put that right and finish strong.”

Harry Sawyer on his performance

Harry Sawyer holds himself to high standards. The striker did not seem pleased with his performance in the last game against Bengaluru FC. He said, “I'm a bit disappointed that I didn’t convert the chances in the last match but we’re creating a lot right till that final bit and if we get that right it’ll be the difference between a good side and a very good side. We will try to be more clinical up front.”

Focus on finishing

The striker firmly believes that his team needs to capitalise on the scoring opportunities. He said, “It becomes so important to score when you’re getting so many set pieces so I think last match we had 22 corners and in any game where you’re that dominant you have to take advantage of the set pieces and if we had converted them in the last game it may have been a different result so for the next game we will have to focus on it.”