Santosh Kashyap is a man who has dedicated his entire life to the beautiful game. A loyal servant to Indian football, Kashyap is an AFC Pro Diploma qualified coach and currently the No. 2 to Venezuelan César Farias at NorthEast United FC. As head coach of Royal Wahingdoh, Kashyap guided the team from the north-east to an unexpected third place finish in their debut season of the Hero I-League. We caught up with him for an exclusive chat with indiansuperleague.com where he talked about the ISL Auction and the road ahead for his club among other things.

The recent ISL Auction and Draft procedure was a novelty to many including Kashyap. “Watching it is a good sign for Indian football; very thrilling, very interesting and very nicely designed. With the Draft, the teams are prepared so well that I believe some good players from the I-League didn’t get selected but that’s okay and I’d like to wish them good luck for the next 3-4 months,” he said.

As a manager from the current generation, Kashyap realises the importance of squad rotation in the modern game. “Yes, we can’t depend on one player [alone]. So we have two for each position and it’ll be more competitive. It’s a crunch league so the player needs rest; fatigue was the concern. We can rotate in all positions, [and] we’ll see how the situation turns out,” he said. NorthEast United have clearly marked out their strategy by targeting the likes of marquee signing Simão Sabrosa and exciting young prospect Seityasen Singh. “Modern football is all about the wing and that’s why we decided to go for Seityasen and other speedy players. It’ll be a big contribution from their side and hope they’ll perform the role in a perfect direction,” he added.Even though Santosh Kashyap is an established name in the Hero I-League, there is no denying that the ISL will be a new challenge for him. “Let’s see, it’s a different ball game. The level of the game in the ISL is different and we’ll definitely try to play our best. I have to help the chief coach and guide him. Let’s see how far we can reach,” he explained.

NorthEast United’s primary target, Seityasen Singh, was successfully recruited during the ISL Auction held on July 10. Everyone involved with the club including Kashyap seemed quite happy with the result. “Absolutely! It was conducted in a professional manner and I’m happy with the players we have selected and retained and included. The players we have are talented and will contribute well – the foreign players [and] talented young coach [too]. And I’d like to thank John [Abraham], who took a lot of interest in building this management team. We’ll give a better performance this year, definitely,” he promised as he signed off.Kashyap and NorthEast United have won half the battle by acquiring their primary targets and look equipped to take on the second edition of the ISL with gusto. The club kicks off its campaign on October 6th against last year’s finalists, Kerala Blasters FC.