Mumbai City FC will be in a buoyant mood heading into their Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 clash against Jamshedpur FC at the JRD Tata Sports Complex on Thursday. The Islanders ended defending champions Bengaluru FC’s unbeaten start to the campaign in their last outing and will be confident about securing another victory when they face Jamshedpur.

Mumbai’s head coach Jorge Costa, however, doesn’t believe that the win over Bengaluru will alter their approach to the Jamshedpur encounter. “Firstly, let me say that the fact that we beat Bengaluru a few days ago will change nothing as far as our thinking and approach to the (Jamshedpur) game is concerned. We have a lot of respect for Jamshedpur but we’re here to keep doing our job. To be serious, to play and fight for the three points,” Costa told reporters at his pre-match press conference.

That said, he did admit that beating the Blues gave them confidence. “Of course, the win against Bengaluru gives us confidence. Not because it was Bengaluru, but we needed points to move closer to the top four. Prior to the Bengaluru game, we’d had three draws, resulting in just three points, when in my opinion, we should have had nine points.”

Costa continued, “It is very good to perform well and see that the team is growing, but it’s important to finish the game and collect the three points. With the win against Bengaluru, we moved closer to the top four and as I’ve said from the beginning of the season, we want to finish in the top four. For that to happen, we need points, which is why we want to win against Jamshedpur just like we did against Bengaluru.”

When asked about Mumbai’s as well as the opposition’s strengths, Costa said, “I am aware of Jamshedpur’s strengths and I will not discuss that with you, of course. We know what to do, we know what we are capable of doing and I’m sure that it won’t be an easy game. However, we are ready for the game and ready to go home with the three points.”

The Portuguese coach also enthused at the prospect of playing in front of a big crowd in Jamshedpur. “The pitch is perfect. I know that there will be a big crowd for the game and it’s easier and better to play in a full stadium than an empty one. Even though the majority of the spectators will be against us, on the matchday, we want as many people as possible,” said Costa.

Joining Costa at the pre-match press conference was Mato Grgic, who insisted that their gameplan will be the ‘same as always’. “The plan is the same as always, to be compact and fight for each other, stick to what our coach’s plans are and that’s it. Like every game, we need to be together, we need to be compact and that will make things easier for everyone to play,” said Grgic.

Read the Match Preview here.