Coming into the 2018-19 season of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL), all eyes will be fixed on champions Chennaiyin FC to see if they can replicate last season’s heroics. The South-Indian side will be aiming to become the first side to successfully defend their crown in the league’s history.

At the Hero ISL Media Day event in Bengaluru, indiansuperleague.com caught up with head coach John Gregory, alongside senior players like Jeje Lalpekhlua and Inigo Calderon to uncover their thoughts ahead of the new season.

Reliving last year’s highs

The 2017-18 campaign of the Hero ISL was one of the biggest to date, given a longer spell and added competition in the league. Gregory spoke of some of the high points from last season as well as the kind of motivation he seeks to keep him going for the new campaign.

“Wanting to do what we did last season, I think, is a huge motivation. Last year’s championship-winning season was the hardest I think I have ever worked as a coach. One of the reasons is the fact that we were all together, lived together in the hotel and we were all in each other’s faces every day of the week. There was no real escape. Every day I saw my boys. We were there every day and I got the motivation of being with them all the time.”

“The boys are just a pleasure to be around with, so I get a lot of motivation from them and from the way they are on the bus. We get on the bus and they got this music on the bus, they are all dancing and just a real happy bunch you know, so it is a great environment that we have. So, in that respect, that’s where I get my motivation from,” he added.

Consistency is key for Jeje

One of the league’s top marksmen, Jeje Lalpekhlua was a pivotal figure in both of Chennaiyin’s title-winning campaigns in 2015 and 2017-18. However, the Mizo Sniper did endure a few rough patches last season, where he failed to find the back of the net. When asked about the same, Jeje admitted that he is working hard in training to ensure that he has a more consistent season.

“Sometimes as a striker, you know it happens to every player. Sometimes you can get goals, but this is football and you can have a bad day. For that, you need to work hard all the time. I didn't get the goals in six matches continuously so it was a difficult time for me but still I worked hard and put in the hard work in training and also finishing training alone. So especially for me in this season, I need to work very very hard and I want to score as much as I can for the team, helping the team to lift the trophy.”

Calderon’s off-field camaraderie

Last season’s Fittest player of the year, Inigo Calderon returns to Chennaiyin for another season at the back. However, the Spaniard will have to deal without his former teammate Henrique Sereno, who left the club during the summer. Despite his departure, Calderon maintains contact with the defender and hopes to make him proud by achieving more success this season.

“I will miss him (Sereno) but again, football is like that you know? You miss a lot of players in your career, you miss a lot of really good friends and that's the reason I liked to work with Sereno because off the pitch we have a really good relationship. Not just about football but about life. Because at the end of the day, we were sharing our lives for six-seven months and he was a special guy for me. But I think I will try to make him proud in Portugal because I know he will be watching us, so it will be good for him.”