Des Buckingham: There is always room for improvement

Mumbai City have now scored 44 goals this season, with five league stage games to go.

Mumbai City head coach Des Buckingham stressed on the importance of being humble and carrying on their sublime form as the Islanders triumphed 4-0 over NorthEast United at the Mumbai Football Arena (MFA) on Thursday. Securing their 12th victory of the campaign, the Islanders furthered their unbeaten run with yet another dominating win.

Here are the excerpts from Buckingham’s post-match press conference.

Job’s not done yet

“Very happy with what we're doing and how we're doing it.  We don't get carried away. I've just been in the changing room. And it's the same as every game that we've played so far. It's a job well done. But we know now we have some time before the next match against Jamshedpur FC,” Buckingham said as he reflected on the team’s attitude following the victory.

He further added, “The players are very humble and professional. And that's gonna be so important. Again, making sure we refocus as we will do now, as we get ready for Jamshedpur FC.”

Mumbai will be squaring off against Jamshedpur away from home on 27th January for their 16th league game of the season.

Scope for improvement?

Des Buckingham’s men have been relentless this season, having been unbeaten with 12 wins and three draws in 15 games so far. They notch three goals on an average per game and have conceded only 13 times until now. The side has looked class apart as compared to their peers but the head coach claims that there are aspects his team can do better.

“There's always lots to work on. I won't share what it is because I don't want to give anything away for the next five matches. So, there's always room for improvement everywhere,” the 37-year-old said.

He added, “Even tonight in the second half, I thought we needed to create more opportunities as much as giving minutes to the players who deserve them. But there are different things we need to make sure that we continue doing to stay on top of teams when we get the chance.”

Setting the tone up front

Mumbai had already sealed their fate in this encounter by scoring three goals in the first 15 minutes itself. They have been beginning games on a positive note quite consistently now. However, Des Buckingham explained that he did not want the team to settle down after getting a grip over the game early on. Even at half time, he was apparently encouraging the side to keep on scoring more goals – albeit from comfortable situations.

“I think to start and start as well as we did was pleasing. I think we've done that now for two consecutive home games, this time to keep going was to keep going to try and continue to play the way we want first and to try and score more goals but only if it's the right time and the right place. So, it wasn't trying to force things. It was an opportunity to do two things,” the mentor said.

“One was to continue to try and make sure we kept a clean sheet which was important to us and then the other important thing which is making sure all the other players that we have on the bench got minutes because again, that's gonna be so important today and in the final five league games,” he signed off.