Kerala Blasters FC’s marquee player and head coach David James took pains to downplay the notion that his side had gained some sort of momentum after their win against FC Pune City a few days ago.Speaking at a press conference on the eve of his team’s fixture against Mumbai City FC in Navi Mumbai tomorrow, the former England goalkeeper said, “For me, momentum is a very dangerous word. We have seen that in the Hero Indian Super League, form counts for nothing. A lot of teams have won games convincingly, only to go on and falter at the next step. I expect my squad to do well and I believe that our squad is good enough to beat any team in the ISL on its day.”James went on to highlight the irony of how the team lost despite playing well while winning a game in which their performance was scrappy. “I thought we played well against NorthEast United FC, even more so against Chennaiyin FC, but we got nothing from both those games. The game against Pune was a scrappy one and the win was not an ideal one,” he explained. “Having said that, it’s an old cliché, a win is a win. I do hope that we pick up points more regularly now that we have our first win on the board,” he added.The former Liverpool and Manchester City player praised the grit and determination of his squad for the turnaround in Kerala’s fortunes. “The boys are delighted with the first win. It took us four games to achieve this milestone. The conditions during the last game were difficult and challenging, yet the boys overcame it. The will to fight and the desire to win from our team was absolutely superb. The game against Atlético de Kolkata was gruelling and I think we got a well-earned point. For the game against Pune, we went in with a lot of analysis on the way they played. We conceded a sloppy goal from a set play and (David) Trezeguet came up with a brilliant finish. But we stuck to our guns and executed our plan,” he said.James was tight-lipped about the team that would start tomorrow and in response to a query about his star striker Michael Chopra, he explained, “Michael was supposed to start against Atlético de Kolkata, but he picked up a knock. The recovery signs are encouraging and we shall see tomorrow whether he is fit to start and take a call.” He also revealed that Victor Herrero Forcada had gone back to Spain for treatment for some nasty injuries suffered early on in the campaign and they were waiting for him to get fit and return healthier.Asked what his formula for qualifying for the top four was, James quipped, “Winning all our home games and drawing one game away from home. We have not played at home yet (grinning), so I am sticking to my formula. I am happy with the strength and depth of my squad. A three game rush might look difficult on paper, but I am confident of my squad’s ability to handle it.”James also refuted the impression that Mumbai City were pushovers, claiming that no team in the tournament could be judged on form; they were not taking anything for granted and would have to be at their very best to clinch full points tomorrow. “They have (Nicolas) Anelka, who was my teammate at Manchester City and I happen to know for a fact that he can be devastating on his day. We want to pick up maximum points and head back to Kochi, where I know that our fans are waiting impatiently for us. We want to end up in the top half of the table and hopefully, we shall get the support back home to achieve the same,” he declared.
