Recovery is the key to success for Mumbai City FC's Des Buckingham

The 36-year-old tactician shed light on how the Islanders will prepare for the late kick-off on Saturday.

Mumbai City FC will visit Bengaluru FC for the fourth round of the fixtures of the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL) season on Saturday. Led by head coach Des Buckingham, the Islanders will take the field against Bengaluru as table-toppers, following their huge win over ATK Mohun Bagan.

The Blues, however, are still struggling to find their feet in the league this season. They beat NorthEast United in their campaign opener but have failed to win the following two games. On Friday, Buckingham and Mumbai City full-back Amey Ranawade interacted in the pre-match press conference.

Bouncing back from last season's injury

In a clash with Subhasish Bose in the previous season, Amey Ranawade picked up a serious injury and needed the immediate attention of medical professionals. Now, he believes he has come far ahead and doesn't wish to look back.

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"Injury-wise, I don't remember it that properly. It's not a good memory for me. So, I don't have it in my mind. After the injury, I only remember winning the trophy. And game-wise, I have kept things simple like last season. Our new coach has improved us both technically and tactically," he recalled.

Similarity between Sergio Lobera and Des Buckingham

Sergio Lobera left Mumbai City FC after helping them to win the ISL in his first season. He was said to be joining a new City Football Group (CFG) club while being replaced by another employee of the CFG, Des Buckingham. Amey sees playing under the two coaches as a similar experience.

"I guess both the coaches have the same philosophy of playing football. It wasn't quite hard for me. I'm still in the process of getting better, game by game," the 23-year-old full-back revealed.

Bouncing back from the Hyderabad defeat

Mumbai lost to Hyderabad FC in their ISL 2021-22 campaign opener. The defending champions, however, bounced back to defeat ATK Mohun Bagan 5-1 in their previous match. Amey Ranawade believes it is this mentality that helped them win the league last season.

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"I think that is where the champion's mentality comes in. And that is what we did last season also. It helped us win the league and the shield last season. Winning and losing is a part of the game. But what champions do is the comeback all about. How strong you come back from a defeat - that is what we showed in the last match," he explained.

Recovery of players

Head coach Des Buckingham believes that his team has worked hard to be match-fit in the pre-season. The English tactician feels player recovery is now the key to the preparedness of his team.

"We've had a pretty hard start to our season. We find ourselves playing three days after the last one. We have all players available for us in the next game. And we haven't changed our approach to how we will approach this game. It is another tough game, but we will prepare as well as we need to. We need to be ready for it," the 36-year-old opined.

How does he want his team to play

Buckingham is happy with how Mumbai has played so far. He knows the team is far from perfect but sees consistency as the key.

Speaking on whether he is happy with the team, he answered, "I would like to see more in possession. I would like to be more consistent in the way we want to play. I've seen glimpses of it in the first game. And I have seen more consistency in the second game and for the large parts of the first half in the last game. For me now, it is about showing that consistency over a longer period of time. And that's not just with the ball, but without the ball as well. So I'm happy but there's still a lot of work to do."

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ATK Mohun Bagan lodging complaints against referees

ATK Mohun Bagan didn't agree with the decisions of the referees in the game against the Islanders. The Mariners have since then lodged a complaint to the ISL. Des didn't want to comment on the complaints by the Mariners.

"It is the first time I have heard about that. It's not my place to comment about what other clubs do. My job is to make sure that what we do here is as well as we can. So that's not in my control and I'm not willing to comment on that," he answered.

On whether Bengaluru FC can cause problems

Bengaluru have been one of the most consistent teams in the league over the course of the last few seasons. However, Des Buckingham knows that any team, on their day, can cause problems to any other team in the league.

"I think any team in this league can cause us a problem and each other a problem. I think it is a very tight league and when we look at the games so far they [Bengaluru FC] have played, they have very good players playing a good style of football. And if we don't come prepared ourselves as well as we need to, they will cause us problems," he remarked.

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On the late kick-off

Mumbai will play for the first time in a late night slot in the ISL this season. The 9:30 pm kick-off is new for the Islanders' manager as well. However, the team is prepared by following the recommendations received on their schedule.

"I have to have sleep in the afternoon. That's the latest kick-off that I've coached. It is certainly a new experience for me. But for the players, they have a schedule. We have recommendations on the time to eat and time to sleep and how they can best prepare for late evening kick-offs," Buckingham assured.

Quality of the referees in the league

Referees and their decisions have always been a hot topic in the ISL. Every season has had its fair share of controversies related to refereeing. Des Buckingham says that without VAR, the referees have very little help and have to do the best they can with what they can see.

"I think referees have got a tough job in any league. With no VAR, they have to rely upon what they see in the game. We have got situations gone for us already this season in the three games. We have got situations gone against us as well. Overall, I'm okay with the decisions. They tend to work themselves out.

"My focus is not on the refereeing decisions. My focus is that our players behave in a certain way on and off the field. My focus is on our team, our club and not the referees," he concluded.

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