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'The break halted our momentum' - Sergio Lobera's refreshed Mumbai City looking to reclaim top spot
The Spaniard is content of the way his players have responded to his philosophy and style of play...
Mumbai City have had a 12-day break since their 2-0 win over Hyderabad FC. Now they gear up to face Kerala Blasters in the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL) on Saturday.
The Islanders head coach, Sergio Lobera, feels that the break has came when the team was in good momentum with a six-game unbeaten run. However, the break has allowed Lobera to work on implementing his ideas.
"We have got some time to analyse the situation at the club after a long time. When you are in a good momentum, it's not easy to stop playing, but on the other hand, it's good to have more time to work on our philosophy and style of play. This is because we had a very short time in pre-season and time between games," he said.
"Now we had time to work but if I can choose, [I would prefer] not a long break and after that play three games [in 10 days], but this is the situation and we need to adapt in this scenario."
After Kerala, Mumbai face Bengaluru and ATK Mohun Bagan to conclude the first half of the season but Lobera is fixated only on the next fixture.
"I'm only thinking about Kerala Blasters. We need to put our focus on the next game and thinking about the next three games is not good for us because our next game is going to be difficult against a very good team with a good coach (Kibu Vicuna). They have very good players and try to play in a similar style like us.
"It's not easy, especially living inside the [bio] bubble with Christmas and New Year. 12 days is a long time without competitive games but I have a very good squad with very good professionals. For me, it's easy because they (players) want to work everyday to improve their level. I think it's difficult but at the same time, it is easy because I have very good players."
Mumbai City can reclaim the top spot with a positive result on Saturday. They currently have one of the best attacking and defensive numbers in the league.
"As a coach, you need to work on the offensive and defensive balance. We play attacking football but it's very important for us to work across the pitch. The team understands the situation in transition very well and I'm very happy with the team because they are working very well in this aspect," Lobera mentioned.
Goalkeeper Amrinder Singh, having started in all games so far, has conceded the joint least number of goals (3) with ATK Mohun Bagan's Arindam Bhattacharya. He feels that the break helped the team regroup and expressed his confidence in the coach's plan.
"I think we got this 12-day break at the perfect time to recover all our players from minor injuries. Our last few sessions have been very good with the entire squad and we are feeling confident about ourselves.
"I've always wanted to play with my feet and have always waited for such an opportunity that I got this year under our coach (Sergio Lobera). I'm very comfortable playing in this style of football. We start our attacks from the goalkeeper," he stated.
Working alongside experienced forwards such as Adam le Fondre and Bartholomew Ogbeche has also helped him up his game, claimed the 27-year-old.
"When you train against good strikers everyday, it helps a lot. Both of them (Le Fondre and Ogbeche) are very good strikers and talking to them helps me understand what goes on in a striker's mind.
"We want to do well in every game. The players' mindset is only to win and this has helped the team a lot. I think we have also understood the plan of the coach and it has made it easier for us to do things on the pitch."
