Khalid Jamil eyeing a second win on the trot

by Vidhi Shah February 20, 2015

Mumbai FC is back to winning ways and no one would be more relieved and satisfied than their gaffer Khalid Jamil. After having a poor run at the start of the season, the team gradually picked up pace which culminated in clinical 3-0 victory last week against the Goan side Salgaocar.

Khalid Jamil is mighty pleased with his contingent as they had suffered losses despite top notch performances at away games. And now, he is the man who finds himself responsible to retain the fan frenzy who have religiously backed the team at their home ground, Cooperage. So when we met him for the pre- match conference, he was in his usual composed, relaxed yet on-the-spot demeanor probably hinting at the side’s confidence and approach towards the fixture.

As the team play league leaders Royal Wahingdoh, Khalid very frankly pointed out that the match will be different than the previous two ones as they lock horns with a stronger side. Throwing further light on this he said, “Defensively we played quite well last game, but with this team you have to be more organized as they do not fail to surprise. We have to extremely alert and the concentration level of the entire pack should be high.”

With the lone exception of skipper Climax Lawrence there are no fitness concerns for the rest of the Mumbai squad. Although, Khalid did leave a positive string of hope hanging, “We’ll see how Climax is doing the practice session today and then maybe start with him tomorrow or not. It’s undecided yet.” If Climax does return to the playing field tomorrow not only will the mid field be power loaded but the supporters will also have an additional reason to cheer!

In the last fixture, Jayesh Rane dubbed as the Neymar by fans was the star player. When asked about him, Khalid was quick to respond that he did play well last match but now has to play even better against Wahingdoh. It’s also the young striker’s birthday tomorrow so a great opportunity lies ahead to take his team home against the table toppers with another win!

The defeat against this North- Eastern side in the Fedeartion Cup is still lingering in the Khalid’s mind as he refrained from picking favorites and said that it’s all about how you play those 90 minutes. “They are a strong team, no doubt about that. We have done our regular preparations and just that extra element of being careful in necessary against this side. If you play well, results will automatically come your way.”

The coach was also generous in mentioning that Royal Wahindoh has many strong points and that is why they are at the pinnacle position. Revealing their unique factor he said, “With them it’s not fixed, whether they play up or they play down. One can’t really make a prediction and that is why they’ve upset some big teams as well.”

With two consecutive clean sheets and a commanding victory in the last game to announce their presence, Mumbai FC is riding high on confidence at the moment. Khalid then expects nothing short of a positive outcome as he put in his last words, “We have to sustain this, be alert and work very hard as we flush out the negatives and  focus more on the positive and stronger aspects.”

If anything was to be deduced from this, it is that Khalid Jamil’s Mumbai FC are  going to put their best foot forward tomorrow and pose a tough challenge and a meaty fight to Royal Wahingdoh.