Simon Grayson: As individuals, everyone needs to win their battles

Bengaluru FC carry a 1-0 lead back home to the Kanteerava, where they will contest the second leg of the semi-finals against Mumbai City FC. BFC are on a 10-match win streak and will hope to bank on the home advantage in front of a sell-out crowd. Sunil Chhetri's goal separated the sides in the first leg, as Bengaluru FC shut down a wayward Mumbai City.

Mumbai City have scored 54 goals this season, and failed to find the back of the net on only two occasions. With a variety of attacking options on offer, Des Buckingham's men will be looking to peg BFC on the back foot from early. Simon Grayson was joined by Suresh Wangjam in the pre match press conference. Edited excerpts are as follows.

Players' readiness for the match

Compared to Mumbai City, Bengaluru FC have had a much busier run-in to the fixture. They had to overcome Kerala Blasters in a single-legged knockout game last Friday, while the Islanders have been fielding second-string teams towards the end of the league season. Simon Grayson spoke of recovering quickly, "I said that we wanted to be in the tie going into the second leg. It's great to have the lead but it doesn't change our preparation. Mumbai is a top team so I expect a difficult game. We've had to recover quickly. The players know how we play and it's about making those little tweaks that are needed.

"They've been doing really well and the proof will be in tomorrow's game. Suresh Wangjam added, "The team did a great job not allowing Mumbai any room. Every game will be tough and physical, and it felt good to come out of the game with a win. I feel like I'm improving every season and there's a lot more to get better at. I want to credit the coach for trusting me. He put a lot of belief in me even when I was making mistakes earlier."

Welcome selection headaches

With Sunil Chhetri rediscovering form that had eluded him all season, Simon Grayson is happy to have a fully-fit squad with players fighting hard for a first-team berth. Grayson said, "If Sunil keeps scoring goals, it's a good headache to have for me. He has that steely desire to put his best when he gets the opportunity.

"His professionalism is unbelievable. I can only guide players on what to do. Once they get to the pitch, it's for them to decide what's the right thing to do. They have the freedom to enjoy football and hopefully do more correct things than wrong."

Working as a team with a set motivation

Bengaluru defended as a unit in the first leg, and had a set game plan to sit deep and hit Mumbai on the counter-attack. Simon Grayson spoke of players winning their individual battles and their motivation being the finals, "

It was never going to be easy in Mumbai, but I've always told the players to play with the desire to win. The good thing was we played positively and on the front foot. It's about how we work as a team. As individuals, everyone needs to win their battles, but it has to be within the structure of the team. Our motivation is that we are one step away from the final and whether it is 500 people or 25,000, our intent remains the same."

Rallying the troops in front of the home crowd

Bengaluru FC have fed off the unwavering home support, and will be playing in front of the Kanteerava crowd for the last time this season. With a packed house expected, Simon Grayson spoke of the support throughout the season, "We expect the stadium to be rocking on Sunday and the team will work hard to ensure that the fans have something to cheer about.

"The atmosphere here has been unbelievable. Even when we used to come for the 5:30 PM kick-offs the fans would be in with the flares and noise. The support has been fantastic throughout and we expect the same on Sunday night."