NorthEast United FC head coach Ricki Herbert chose to reflect on the many positives of a long and hard campaign ahead of their last home game against Mumbai City FC and credited his team for coming as far as they did.“It has been a wonderful tournament and a very intense one. I think we were one goal short from being in the top four. I’ll take that as one of the many positives from our campaign. The fact that two of the semi-final spots will be decided on the last two days of the group phase is a testament to the high level of competition that has been on show. We would have liked to be in the semi-finals, but I am sure that in the coming years, this franchise will be up there fighting for the title,” the Kiwi gaffer said.“I think that we need to improve on our recruiting process. We have 13-14 players from the same club and they were relatively inexperienced at this level. Our philosophy was to build this club from the ground up with young talent. We have not invested in superstars like some of the other franchises have. I feel we also have lacked that extra bit of quality needed in the final third at times. Hopefully, next season, all of this can be changed,” Herbert explained, when asked to cite some reasons that might have led to their failure to qualify for the semi-finals.The former Kiwi International defender also appreciated all the support that his team had received from the many fans who had turned up at every venue. “We are one of the few clubs that enjoyed support wherever we went. It was very heartening to see. What can I say about our home support? They have been truly magnificent! Game after game, 30,000 odd thousand fans have turned up and screamed their hearts out. I want to thank them for their dedicated support and would want this to continue,” he said.“Len (Doungel) is injured, Felipe (Castro) is suspended and Koke has a hamstring problem. Koke will train and will be assessed tomorrow morning,” Herbert replied, when asked about the availability of certain key members of his squad.Herbert was also quick to deny the notion that the Highlanders were favourites tomorrow given the fact that Mumbai were missing several key players. “A lot of teams have had the ‘favourites’ tag thrust on them. I would rather look at how we perform. We want a win to send the fans home with a smile on their faces,” he concluded.
