Kerala Blasters FC travel to the JRD Tata Sports Complex to take on Jamshedpur FC in Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 on Wednesday. The two-time finalists head into the match on the back of two consecutive away wins, and all four of their goals in those two games were scored by their talismanic Canadian, Iain Hume. Prior to the clash, indiansuperleague.com caught up with Hero ISL’s all-time leading goal-scorer for his thoughts on the league, Kerala’s current form and David James’ impact on the squad since taking over as head coach. Here are the excerpts from the interview.

This is your fourth season in the ISL. How much has the league progressed over the last few years?

I think the teams are a lot more organized. Obviously, they have changed management at times. Especially with this season, it’s had this sort of start-again with all new squads and new coaches. Only two coaches have continued from last season, so it’s a massive overhaul. But I think the Indian players especially are getting better and better every year. The average age of the foreign players is a lot lower than the first couple of years. And I think as a whole, it’s just taken massive strides because it’s giving a lot more exposure to the younger players. They are coming through and a lot of them are making their debuts for the national team and obviously playing ISL week in and week out which is massive for Indian football, not just ISL.

Have you noticed any change in the quality of football that is being played, specifically among the young Indian players?

They are a lot better. A lot more confident. Especially with the season being longer, they are training day in and day out for longer periods. As I said before the average age of the foreign players is going down and they are getting to train at this level and they are getting accustomed to it. And it’s for a longer period. So, you are going to impress and improve. And it’s a good thing for Indian football and the ISL because the season is extending, and you are getting longer periods of higher training and I think it’s a sign of where the league really wants to go because eventually they are going to extend it again and again in the coming years. Maybe it’s going to become an eight-month or nine-month season, which is their aim and I think once that happens, the more football that the Indian players are going to play at this level, it’s going to improve them, and I am looking forward to this happening. Whether I am involved with it or not is a different thing, but the quality of Indian players has improved a lot quicker than people may have expected.

You have been on fire lately scoring four goals in the last two games, seems like the perfect time to hit form. What are your thoughts on your performance this season?

A little bit stop-start at the beginning of the year. In and out of the team, different positions, little injuries halfway through it. But the last three or four weeks I have been as fit as I can get and it’s only going to improve with matches. I am happy with how I am doing personally. Finally getting my first goal last week against Delhi was a massive thing for me, to turn it into a hat-trick was even better. And then a massive goal against Mumbai. But the main thing for me is the success of the side. We have played against three good sides. So, it’s very positive times for Kerala because this is a team where players are willing to do anything to try and win a game. It’s great to be involved.

Speaking about positives times, it has been three games since David James took over. You guys drew the first one and won two important away games after that. How has he influenced the team?

A lot of things were in place before he came in. Credit to the old staff. The team was working as hard as they are now. But sometimes they just need a different point of view of things. James has come in with his staff and they are positive. They are excited about coming into a team that they can see for themselves is good enough. But it’s just a lease of life for some players who may have been out of the squad. I myself have been in and out of the team. I think it’s just a whole array of things across the team. I think they have come in and given us that extra little bit. I just think it is paying dividends because we are going out there and we are continuing to do the same things and maybe add a little bit more to it. I think that has been the difference in us.