Des Buckingham reveals why he went to Chennai to watch Punjab FC live

Mehtab Singh shared how he gets help from head coach Des Buckingham.

Mumbai City FC, currently occupying the fifth position in the ISL 2023-24 League table, are gearing up to take on the newly promoted team, Punjab FC. Both teams are eager to secure a victory and climb up the ISL league table.

Des Buckingham’s squad head into the match following a home draw against Hyderabad FC, where they faced an early setback with their goalkeeper Phurba Lachenpa’s red card. On the other side, Punjab FC are also coming off a tough 5-1 defeat at the hands of Chennaiyin FC.

Let’s see what head coach Des Buckingham and defender Mehtab Singh had to say ahead of the match:

Trip to Chennai

Des Buckingham revealed that he and his team visited the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Chennai to observe and learn how Punjab deploy their tactics.. The coach addressed, “We went to watch them. We flew to Chennai, to go and watch them, again to do the best that we can to prepare our team.”

“We had a day off. We only get to see what the TV shows us, otherwise you don’t get to see the full picture. So, by travelling there, it just gives us a little bit more insight, the things that we haven’t been able to see,” the tactician added.

Finding the Rhythm

The newly promoted Punjab FC is still in the process of finding their rhythm in the ISL 2023-24 season. Des Buckingham is optimistic that the team will continue to develop as the league progresses and will pose a formidable challenge to his side at the Mumbai Football Arena. 

He highlighted, “It takes maybe four or five games to find your rhythm, four or five games to find that sharpness, to find your best or strongest eleven. So, they are one of those clubs who are still working through that. But, sometimes you find that very early, another time you fall into that.”

Phurba sent off

Mumbai City FC’s first-choice goalkeeper, Phurba Lachenpa, received a red card against Hyderabad FC and will be unavailable for the clash against Punjab FC. The English coach said, “We had two setbacks in the first fifteen (Phurba red card and El Khayati’s injury). 

“We spoke about the solid foundations that we have and if players are really brought and built on over the last few years, then when you do get setbacks, the key thing is we stick to what we know and that was so evident in that game (against Hyderabad),” the coach commends the foundation of the team.

Mehtab’s development under Des Buckingham

Mehtab Singh, a stalwart for Mumbai City FC, reflected on his personal development and the deepening of his relationship with head coach Des Buckingham over the years.

He highlighted, “It has been a good two and a half years. There is an excellent bonding with the coach. There is no problem in sharing anything with him and vice versa. Since this is the fourth year, there are more responsibilities, and with the coach’s planning, we know what to do and how to do it. So, it feels nice.”

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