FC Goa welcome Chennaiyin FC to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa on Thursday in Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18. Goa are currently facing a lean patch, having managed to secure only a single point in their last three encounters and need to get back to their former formidable self to enter the playoffs. The Gaurs have signed a number of new players to bolster their squad and one of them is young Frenchman Hugo Boumous. The 22-year-old midfielder sat down with indiansuperleague.com and spoke about the league and Goa’s mindset ahead of the crucial fixture. Here are the excerpts.

What made you choose FC Goa in terms of your professional career?

I am very happy to be a part of this squad and want to thank everyone for the welcome. I chose India because I think it will be a very good experience for me. It’s a good league, good development, a very good stadium and Goa is very nice. There’s good fun in this stadium. I knew the coach (Sergio Lobera) and when he called me, I directly said yes because we have a very good team with good foreign and Indian players. We can do something in this league and enter the semi-finals.

Your thoughts on Hero ISL?

ISL is a very good league. It has seen good development in the past 3-4 years. It has big stars and very good foreign and Indian players. It’s a lot of fun and it is very very interesting to me.

Besides football, which is your other favourite sport?

I just like football. Besides football, I like to relax and visit new places because we are in Goa and it’s a very very nice place. I enjoy a lot and I go to visit the different beaches when I get time.

What is Goa’s target for the upcoming five games?

For the rest of the league, we have to be warriors. Keep our focus on every game as every game is like a final, and eventually enter the semifinals. So that’s the single objective we have - to be warriors and fight for every ball and get three points in every game. That’s it!

Who do you see as a contender for the semifinal spot?

I think there are very good teams in this league. The ones who could be contenders are Kerala (Blasters FC), Jamshedpur FC and Chennaiyin FC. That’s why it’s very important to win against Chennaiyin tomorrow.

Ahmed Jahouh has been influential for Goa in the midfield. How do you look forward to playing alongside him in the thick of action?

Yes, I know that Jahouh is very very good because he played for Morocco before. He’s a very good player in the midfield and I think, we both can complement each other on the field. He plays a little more up than me but I think it will be good for the team.