"Impossible to not lose a game this season," says Sergio Lobera

The Spaniard spoke about his side's preparations ahead of the game against Kerala Blasters on Wednesday.

Sergio Lobera and Mumbai City FC suffered only their second loss in the Indian Super League 2020-21 season as they went down fighting to NorthEast United FC last week. Now, they seek to get back on the right track when they face Kibu Vicuna and his Yellow Army, who themselves were unlucky to come away with nothing against ATK Mohun Bagan last time around. Ahead of the thrilling encounter, Sergio Lobera and striker Adam le Fondre addressed the media on Tuesday.

Unbeaten run and next step

Sergio Lobera understands that in a competitive league, a loss is bound to happen at some stage. "It is impossible to not lose any game this season. We know in this competitive league this situation can happen. This one result should not affect us. We need to keep improving and continue working. We need to learn from our mistakes as always. But, I am not worried about the situation.”

Rowllin Borges’ absence affecting the team’s gameplan?

The Spaniard feels that the absence of one player, no matter how important, shouldn’t be causing adversity within his side. “Borges is an important player. But for me as a coach, it is not possible to try and find an excuse because one player is missing. I think we have enough players and a very good squad to win the game. Borges has been a very good player for us. But there are no excuses to lose the last game, only because we were missing one player.”

Analysing Kerala Blasters' threat

Kibu Vicuna’s Kerala Blasters have steadily improved during the course of the season and Sergio Lobera will want his side to be absolutely focused on the pitch despite the disparity in positions between the two sides. “Kerala Blasters have improved a lot since their first game. Now they are competing very well and playing very well. The first half in the last game is a very good example. It is always going to be a difficult game against a very good team. They play very good football. They try to play out from the back and have very good players. The most important thing is to put focus on ourselves and compete against a very good team like Kerala.”

Jahouh’s suspension

The upcoming match will be Ahmed Jahouh’s 3rd missed match due to suspension. Sergio Lobera expressed his views on the situation saying, “To miss three out of 15 games, is lot. But we need to improve in some areas because sometimes, it was possible to avoid the cards. Jahouh is the player with the most tackles in the league. When we lose the ball, sometimes we need to take the risk and therefore a lot of fouls tend to happen. But, I think it’s too much in this case. We need to improve these numbers, because it is very important for me as a coach to have full team available for every game, especially in this period of the season. When we can avoid the cards we need to do it.”

Loan moves for Sarthak and Sourav

During the window, Sarthak Golui and Sourav Das left for SC East Bengal on loan moves from Mumbai City. “I think the players need to play. They didn’t have enough opportunities with us. It is difficult as a player when you are in the squad and the coach doesn’t give you the opportunity to play. The most important thing is in the coming games they play regularly for other clubs. For the future, the clubs need to speak to the player and make a decision,” the Spaniard concluded.

Le Fondre on the need for character in the team

Despite the streak-ending loss against NorthEast, Le Fondre is positive. He believes the Islanders’ strength of character will be there for all to see. “The sign of any good team is how you respond to setbacks. We have got great character and resilience in the squad. I think this would be a good test for us. Kerala also were unlucky in the last game.”

On his role in the team

The English striker has started as well as made contributions from the bench during the course of the season. He feels what he needs to do largely remains unchanged no matter when he gets on the pitch. “My role is always the same. It is to score goals and help the team win. It doesn’t matter if it’s the 1st minute or 90th minute, coming on or coming off. Bart (Ogbeche) and I have the same role, to help the team win by scoring goals. I don’t think my role has changed since I was a five-year-old.”

On what Jackichand Singh adds to the squad

Jackichand’s move from Jamshedpur has been a positive step for Mumbai according to their striker. “He's very direct and has got good quality. He attacks his full-backs and gets in behind them. He brings pace to the frontline and helps in counter-attacks. Also, he stretches the game and creates pockets for me, Hugo (Boumous) or Bart to drop into. Adds good variety to the team. You need to have an assortment of weapons that can exploit teams in different ways and we have got that," concluded Le Fondre.

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