Pre-season allows us to work together towards our targets: Buckingham as MCFC kick off the Dubai camp

‘Understand
the
league
a
lot
better
now’

“I
understand
the
league
a
lot
better
in
comparison
from
last
season,
so
there’s
a
lot
of
learnings
we’ll
take
from
that,
which
will
help
us
in
the
next
season.
But
it’s
the
working
relationship
with
the
players
and
spending
the
eight
months
that
we
did
together
and
we
saw
a
good
example
of
what
happens
when
we
played
the
Champions
League.

“It
helps
the
players
understand
how
we
want
to
play
and
what
we
want
to
do.
It
also
enables
us
to
have
a
very
solid
base
from
the
pre-season
point
of
view,
which
is
why
I
am
really
excited
about
the
upcoming
year,”
the
coach
had
said
during
a
roundtable
on
Saturday.

He
further
stated,
“This
year
we
are
going
into
pre-season
a
lot
sooner
and
we
have
most
of
our
group
here
as
well.
I
think
the
biggest
difference
is
the
amount
of
time
you
get
to
spend
with
the
players,
as
we
did
ahead
of
the
Champions
League
when
we
went
to
the
Abu
Dhabi
to
prepare.
Now
that’s
the
plan
this
time
too.”

‘Players
understand
how
we
function’

The
37-year-old
also
expressed
his
delight
at
the
transfer
activity
the
team
had
completed,
and
noted
that
additionally
retaining
the
core
group
will
put
the
team
in
a
very
good
place.

“We’ve
now
had
eight
months
working
together,
so
the
players
understand
how
we
function,
and
we
don’t
have
to
revisit
all
of
that
this
season.
It
allows
us
to
hit
the
ground
running,
get
our
players
fit
and
then
manage
the
games
as
and
when
they
come
–
it
puts
in
a
stronger
position
than
12
months
ago.

“You
see
the
real
benefits
in
the
second
pre-season,
where
the
players
really
understood
the
plans,
physical
demands
and
doing
that
consistently.
So,
we
have
that
base
and
it’s
important
that
we
get
back
to
where
we
were
as
quickly
as
we
can
and
kick
on
and
enhance
all
sides
of
our
game,”
Buckingham
added.

Oldest
tournament
in
India:
Coach
on
Durand
Cup

After
the
three-week
long
pre-season
in
Dubai,
the
Islanders
will
be
part
of
the
Durand
Cup,
which
is
the
oldest
football
tournament
in
Asia.
It
was
first
held
in
1888
and
the
131st
edition
is
set
to
kick
off
on
16
August
with
20
teams
taking
part
across
three
states:
West
Bengal,
Assam
and
Manipur.

“It’s
a
tournament
we
are
focused
on,
we’ll
be
taking
our
full
first
team
and
we’ll
use
the
games
to
be
as
successful
as
we
can
in
that
tournament.
It’s
the
oldest
tournament
in
India
and
we
are
looking
forward
to
it,
especially
playing
with
fans
around
for
the
first
time
in
a
while.
The
Cup
gives
a
bit
of
a
chance
to
try
a
few
things
out
and
then
it
always
gives
us
the
games
to
prepare
for
the
season,”
stated
the
coach.

‘Looking
forward
to
fans
coming
back
to
the
stadium’

While
the
Durand
Cup
will
open
the
season
in
Indian
football,
the
Mumbai
City
FC
coach
is
keenly
awaiting
the
Indian
Super
League
too,
and
hopes
to
play
in
Mumbai,
in
front
of
the
team’s
home
fans.

“I
can’t
wait
to
arrive
into
Mumbai.
I
came
once
with
New
Zealand
in
2018
for
a
competition
(Inter-Continental
Cup)
and
that
was
my
only
time.
I
want
to
meet
our
fans
and
see
and
experience
the
city.
But
I
am
more
looking
forward
to
the
fans
coming
back
to
the
stadium
and
them
seeing
the
kind
of
football
we
play,”
the
coach
signed
off.