Khalid Jamil wants to take it one game at a time, starting tomorrow's Sporting Goa clash

KHALID JAMIL, the head coach of Mumbai FC, appeared to be surprised when he was informed that it's been a month since his team won a match.

Speaking to reporters ahead of tomorrow's clash with Sporting Clube de Goa at the Cooperage, Jamil said,

"Ek mahina ho gaya?... we have to forget about the past, that'll only cause problems. let's think about this match. It's an important match, and it's good that it's at home."

And there are reasons for him to be positive. After playing without some of his crucial players in the last few games, there are signs many of them are on the verge of a comeback. Jamil counted off the returning players,

"Taisuke will start if he's fit by tomorrow. Otherwise he'll be there in the next game. Same with Min-chol Son. Arata is fit, he'll play. Ashutosh is fine as well. Allan has a 50-50 chance of being fit for tomorrow."

Mumbai FC, currently 6th in the league table despite making a promising start, are trying other ways to turn things around as well. Word came out today that they have made 3 more signings: Ishfaq Ahmed, Naoba Singh and Syed Rahim Nabi. Khalid said, 

"We have made a few signings but all the paperwork hasn't been done yet. We'll be more certain about the situation tomorrow... let's see if any of them can be in the team tomorrow... having more options is always helpful... I thought we could use more squad depth because we are playing 8 quick games from here on, and the players we signed are good. "

When asked if he was happy with the present situation where Mumbai FC are sixth in the table, Khalid said he didn't want to get ahead of himself,

"I said before, we're only thinking about the next game. Thinking too far ahead is a burden. Ups and downs are always there. We've been down, we must go up now. Tomorrow's game is crucial."

About his opponents, Sporting Clube de Goa, the Mumbai FC said what he always says about teams he's about to face,

"They're playing well. Sab accha hai, they are a good side. Odafa, Densil..."

A journalist asked if without Min-chol Son in the defense Mumbai FC would be able to contain the danger man Odafa at Cooperage,

"Even when Min-chol Son was out, Pratik and Anwar did well. So it's not like we're out of options... Son used to be the leader in defense, so we took a hit. Now hopefully we can bounce back."

Finally, he signed off after expressing hope that a good number of fans will show up to watch the match despite it coinciding with the India vs Pakistan cricket match in the Asia Cup T20,

"Yes, I always say that home supporters help a lot. I will be really grateful if the fans show up tomorrow."