Hitesh Sharma will be a future star - Santosh Kashyap

The Mumbai gaffer felt that they were outclassed by a superior team and was proud of his players...

Mumbai FC fell to their first defeat of the season after being thrashed 3-0 by reigning champions Bengaluru FC on Wednesday. Speaking to the media after the game manager Santosh Kashyap acknowledged they simply came up against better opponents.

"We did what we could do over the last 10 days and we got two wins in the league. But the reality is that when you face a team like Bengaluru which has a fantastic coach, players and crowd, we have to change our strategy or risk losing by a larger margin," said the 50-year old. 

The former Air India coach however felt that his team restricted the number of chances in the second half despite Bengaluru's superiority in possession. 

Kashyap took a moment to praise the U-22 player in his ranks Hitesh Sharma, who played the full 90 minutes. 

"You will see. Hitesh Sharma will be a future star. I am confident on his abilities. He is doing fantastic regardless of the opposition. He has a fantastic football sense and grasping power," said Kashyap. 

The former Royal Wahingdoh trainer played down the need for foreigners to complement the Indian contingent in his squad.

"Yes there are foreign players in the market who will add to this squad. But you have to understand that I have to work with the budget I have. It's not like what Bengaluru FC have. With the budget we have, this is the best we could do and we have performed well in this short duration. I am confident that we will come back strongly in the next matches," said Kashyap. 

Kashyap has always maintained that he is an advocate of attacking football. However he also pointed out that they needed to change approaches according to the nature of the opposition.

"Yes I want to play attacking football. But you have to accept the reality that when your opposition has a mix of good foreign and Indian players, we have to change our approach. Maybe had the other team been one which was ranked 5th or 6th in the table, I would have favoured a more open game. But had I not done what I did today, we may have lost by a larger margin," said the former Mohun Bagan coach.

He also stated that he wanted to create a brand of football that was unique to India much like how direct football is associated with England and possession football with Spain.

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"Yes we do associate these things with English and Spanish football. It is my aim that I create a type of game that people can point out and say that it is an Indian style of football," signed off the 50-year old.