Coming off a 1-5 drubbing, Mumbai City FC have a lot to think about as they take on Kerala Blasters
What does a coach tell his side after they have been handed a 5-1 drubbing? Peter Reid, coach of Mumbai City FC, certainly had a lot to say after his side lost to Chennaiyin FC in their last outing.
Ahead of their clash against Kerala Blasters FC at DY Patil Stadium on Sunday, he has enough room for caution against the Blasters who are coming off their first win of the league, beating FC Pune City 1-2.
"We didn't pass well, didn't defend well. We conceded two just before the first half whistle, from 2-0 to 4-0, that changes your entire half-time team talk. We were extremely poor against Chennai and knew that we aren't going to win games like that if one sees the manner in which the goals were conceded," Reid said.
That said, Reid and his side are full of optimism going into Sunday's clash. Pavel Cmovs makes his return after a one-match suspension that saw him miss the Chennai drubbing. Nicolas Anelka, having made his ISL debut in their last game, is all set to dazzle in front of the home fans for the first time.
"Pavel let himself and the team down with that performance. He needed to keep his cool then. He was missed in the last game and we hope he makes up for that red card with a commendable performance against Kerala. We've been without our main striker for the first three matches.
"Anelka can't wait to play in front of the home crowd having got 90 minutes under his belt. Andre is back to 100 percent fitness. The squad is up to speed," Reid added.
Reid and his side were quick to put the 5-1 defeat past them as they trained ahead of Sunday's clash, but it would count for nothing should they fail to come away with the three points.
"We have to be more aggressive, more ruthless in front of the goal. We were very much in the games we lost. Instead of being 1-1 we end up being 2-0 down. The focus post the 5-1 defeat was spent on defence and not conceding goals cheaply.
"We've worked on reducing the space between the midfield and the defence not allowing the opposition to work between the lines. But it's one thing to do it on the tactic board and training and another thing to do it on the ground. We got to make things right, in front of our home crowd," said Reid hinting on dropping a high defensive line in favour of a low block.
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