Pune City assistant coach Giovanni Mei ready for Delhi testFC Pune City find themselves on the brink of qualification, standing at 16 points from 12 games. They face Delhi Dynamos in their final home game on Saturday, December 6. A win would certainly consolidate their position in the league table before they head to Kochi to play the final game of the league stage.Assistant coach Giovanni Mei had to deputize for Franco Colomba at the pre-match press conference on the eve of the game against Delhi, and was joined by winger Ashutosh Mehta to address the media. Mei has been associated with Colomba for more than 40 years, with the two having played and worked together. He will manage the team from the sidelines in the absence of Colomba, who was sent off in Pune City’s previous game. When the question arose of how Pune City would deal with their head coach sitting out of the dugout and whether it would affect the match, Mei was optimistic that it wouldn’t.“It’s many years we’ve been working together. We learnt a lot together, we share similar thoughts and ideas for a long time. In that aspect, it won’t be a problem. The problem will be just communication; not in the dressing room or on the bench,” asserted Mei.The Italian went on to emphasise that Pune City need to win this game against Delhi. “It absolutely is necessary to get three points tomorrow. It’s normal, that as we approach the end and there are lesser games left, three points become more essential. For Pune City, three points will be good and with these three points we’ll be in an easy position.” With both teams with similar agendas, in terms of looking at qualification for the semifinals, this will definitely be a good match for the neutrals. “We’ll definitely see a good game though, because Delhi will need the three points, it’s very important for them too. We will be trying for the victory, so it will definitely be a good game.”Pune City don’t have any injury concerns in their squad ahead of the fixture, apart from small niggles here and there, and that is good news for the coach. “There are just the normal problems, playing games up close, traveling every three or four days; it’s normal that not all players are at 100%,” says Mei. Everyone’s working hard and putting in a lot to keep in shape.”A feature of the competition has been it unpredictability. Pune were second from last before their game against Mumbai, and are now closer to qualification, and will use the same tactics that have got them this far. “We always try to face our opponents in the same way. This league is very difficult and competitive because all the teams are strong. That’s why you can expect any type of result, whether it’s a draw, victory or a defeat,” mused Mei. “And if you remember, if we had beaten Chennai we could have gone first. Positions have fluctuated a lot, but the important thing is everyone’s putting in a lot of hard work for the results. We’ve never given up, even when we were down below, mutable, all so close to the top. We’ve always given our best,” said the Italian coach, expressing pride over the team’s work ethic.Ashutosh Mehta has not started for Pune for a few games now, with the coach having many options in the team in that position. The midfielder was not too perturbed, however. “Yes, there is some physical strain due to the nature of fixtures. It is difficult for the players. But it is the same problem for all the teams, so we have to deal with it. All the players are fit and they can play the whole game.”Pune face Kerala Blasters FC away for their final match of the season, and the teams are in deadlock with respect to points. With positive results for both teams, the final game could mean a tiebreaker. “If we win tomorrow then we have a good chance of qualifying for the semifinals. Yes, the Kerala game will be difficult, so we’ll try to get all three points tomorrow so the pressure is less,” said Mehta.