"It was my first Asian Cup, so I was very excited" - Mumbai City's Mehtab Singh opens up on how he can implement what he learnt in the AFC Asian Cup

Mumbai City FC's Mehtab Singh, who is one of the finest central defenders in the country at the moment, knows that the job ahead in the Indian Super League (ISL) is not easy for his club.

Mehtab is known for his technical skills and for his single-minded determination to not let opposition attackers weave past him. Having played in the recently concluded AFC Asian Cup, the youngster garnered invaluable expertise that he will be hoping to pass down to the youngsters at his club.

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda ahead of the Islanders' away game against East Bengal on Tuesday, Mehtab mentioned that he learnt a lot playing for India in the Asian Cup.

"I had a very good experience playing in the AFC Asian Cup. It was my first Asian Cup, so I was very excited. I got to learn a lot from just seeing the other teams. And in general, playing in the tournament, we learnt how to manage the game and how we can keep up the quality of the passes," said Mehtab.

"I also learnt how we can build up from the back and how we can keep possession well. I want to apply that to our team (Mumbai City) and help us going forward. We will keep working hard to bring results," he added.

When asked that the title race has been heating up and that Mumbai City will have to compete on level terms with other challengers, Mehtab feels that they are prepared for it.

"We have a lot of matches coming up. We will look to score as many goals as we can in these games and keep clean sheets. We will try to win every game that we play - that will help us go ahead towards the playoffs," he elaborated.

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"I always have my defensive duties in mind" - Mehtab Singh

Mehtab said that he learnt a lot playing in the AFC Asian Cup. (MCFC Media)

Mehtab Singh's determination is what often distinguishes him from his competitors. He is known for being extremely focused while building the game from the back and has, over time, become a leader of the pack.

The 25-year-old, however, is quite modest when he says that he only has his defensive duties in his mind when to the outsider, it may appear as if he is going to war.

"I always have my defensive duties in mind. To keep a clean sheet, to score goals if possible, to build up gameplay and pass the ball to our midfielders - that's all! Perhaps give long balls and diagonal balls to our strikers if possible. And come what may, whatever happens in front of us, hopefully, we can keep a clean sheet. This is my main motivation and mindset in all games," said Mehtab.

When asked about the impact that new head coach Petr Kratky has had on the side and upon him, Mehtab reiterated that the former is a very helpful man and it is quite an enjoyable process working under him.

"New coach Petr Kratky is a very helpful man. His playing style is quite similar to what it was with Des (Buckingham). We play out and build from the back now as we did back then. Kratky motivates and teaches us a lot. I am really enjoying working under him," he signed off.