ISL 2019-20: Mumbai City FC's Jorge Costa - I made a big mistake last year

Mumbai City FC coach Jorge Costa has stressed that he won't be making the same mistakes from last year in the upcoming Indian Super League (ISL) season.

The Portuguese gaffer, who is set to continue at the club as the head coach, conceded that he may have initially miscalculated the demands of the league.

"We want to play better. We did very well last year but it is not enough," he said. "I made one big mistake last year. When we started to play, I didn't judge the exact reality of this league. I hope not to make that mistake again this season. Now I am 100 per cent sure about the things we must do to have success in India."

Playing three games in the first week is not new for Costa with Mumbai City starting their campaign with two away games against Kerala Blasters and Chennaiyin FC on October 24 and 27 before returning home to face Odisha FC on October 31.

"It's not different from last season. We know that we don't always play on weekends here. We must be ready for everything and I don't have only 11 players. I have 25 players and I trust all of them. So we will be ready," he asserted.

Mumbai City have played a few pre-season friendlies including a 1-1 draw against I-League outfit Gokulam Kerala.

"It was a good pre-season. We have been working together for almost two months with some problems because of the weather. We are ready to play tomorrow but at this moment we are not a perfect team. So we must work everyday to do better," he continued.

"One of the things that brought us success last season, was that we worked every day and we played as a family. This took us time to reach. I think we took about one and a half months last season but I felt that we had a family from the first leg itself."

The club was dependent on Moudou Sougou for goals last season. The Senegalese striker and Portuguese midfielder Paulo Machado have been retained while the likes of Diego Carlos, Amine Chermiti and Serge Kevyn Angoue were added in the attacking line-up. Rowllin Borges, Mato Grgic, Surchandra Singh and Bidyananda Singh are among the other notable signings.

"I will not allow pressure on any one player. We play as a team of 11 players plus three substitutes. All the others will be in the stands to support us. This is my philosophy," Costa signed off.