Mumbai City coach Jorge Costa hopes to start the New Year with a win over ATK after having signed off the gone year with a 2-1 win against Hyderabad FC in the 2019-20 Indian Super League (ISL).
"We finished the year (2019) with three points and it's important to start the New Year with three points. Winning tomorrow will be a huge step to finish in the top four and this is not to put pressure on the players," said the 48-year-old.
Ahead of Friday's tie against ATK at the Mumbai Football Arena in Mumbai, the Portuguese revisited the reverse fixture which ended in a 2-2 draw wherein both sides scored apiece in injury time.
"If you remember our first game in Kolkata, I think we made a wonderful game. I remember I said after the game that I was not sure if we won a point or lost two because we could have won that game," he reminisced.
With Paulo Machado ruled out for the rest of the season, Costa has backed his squad to step up while remaining hopeful of landing a replacement in the January transfer window.
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"It's my job to take care of the situation. There is no one like Paulo in our team but I have been saying from the beginning that I have 25 players and I trust all of them.
"In the last game, we didn't have Paulo and (Rowllin) Borges and we won. So that supports what I have been saying. Now it's up to me to find a better solution, knowing that Paulo will not play. I have a team and we must play as team, and by playing as a team we can beat all our opponents.
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"If we don't get anyone (to replace Machado), I will be happy till the end of the season. I will not spend the money of the club just to replace one player. I'm happy with the players that I have but we will not close the doors," he said.
The Mumbai City gaffer was miffed when asked if his side needs to be physical to stop ATK, who have two in-form strikers in Roy Krishna and David Williams.
"We have our identity and we will play like we work everyday. If the others like it, it is not my problem. I am here to do my job which is to help my team to play good and we are playing good. In most of our games, we have more of the ball than the others.
"When you play football, you don't dance ballet," he continued to explain as to why his team needs more credit for their organisation.
"We cannot forget the good things - how we stopped ATK with a good organisation. We had more chances to score. I believe in the job that we are doing from the first day and the players believe in me and my staff. We know what we want for this season, to finish in the top four, and we know what we have to do to finish in the top four.
"With all respect to ATK, their manager (Antonio Habas), players and their budget, I believe in my team. I believe that we have the potential and the quality for fight for three points," Costa claimed.
