Peter Reid is not taking the challenge of NorthEast United FC for granted despite Mumbai City FC’s crushing 5-0 win over FC Pune City in the Hero Indian Super League here a few days ago.Fielding questions from the media at a press conference here today ahead of his team’s clash with the Ricki Herbert-coached outfit on Friday, the English gaffer said, “We have to be wary of NorthEast United. I have played against a few of Ricki’s teams when I was coaching Thailand and I know that his teams are very tough to beat. He sets his teams up to play a competitive brand of football. Therefore, I am not going to be complacent about this tie.”Reid mentioned that he had followed his rival’s games on television and was aware of their results, but his focus was solely on his side’s preparation. “No disrespect to NorthEast United, but I do not really care about how they will be preparing for this game. My focus is on my boys and our strategies,” he stated.The biggest piece of news of the evening came when Reid confirmed that marquee man Freddie Ljungberg is fit to start. “I can state that Freddie is 100 percent fit. He is fit to play. That gives me a big, big headache as a coach, because all the lads played brilliantly in the previous game. It is a good headache to have though,” Reid quipped.The former Manchester City manager also heaped lavish praise on his Indian charges: “Absolutely smashing. The boys are progressing steadily,” he said in reply to a question on the subject. “Subhash (Singh) grew so much as a player when he scored against Pune. I could literally see that. Peter Costa had an absolutely cracking game, I am delighted for him. The little shoulder drop that Nadong Bhutia gave before he slid the ball in for the fifth goal’s assist, I had never seen him do that before in training. The more we train together, the more we play together, eat together and stay together, the Indian boys will, I am sure, grow together.”“For the Indian boys, it is a confidence thing,” Reid added. “When they started training with the likes of Ljungberg, Anelka, Friedrich and Čmovš, I could see that they were slightly nervous. But look at them now! The first win has given them bags of confidence. When Moritz scored his hat-trick, I could see the Indian boys looking at each other and thinking, ‘If he can, why can’t we?’” Defender Pavel Čmovš, who also attended the press conference, said, “I am concentrating on training well and putting my mind on what the gaffer sets out for me. We will look to give off our best against them (NorthEast United) when we step onto the field.”
