Owing to their poor start to the season, Chennaiyin FC will have to rely on a tremendous upswing in fortunes if they stand any chance of making it to the play-offs of Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2018-19. A victory against neighbouring rivals Kerala Blasters could turn out to be the turning point for the defending champions and steer them on the right path.

Prior to the blockbuster event, indiansuperleague.com caught up with Chennaiyin youngster Isaac Vanmalsawma on his thoughts on the team’s performances this season. Here are the excerpts:

Thoughts on the start to the season.

Nothing went wrong actually this is football so there are so many ups and downs in football, so we’ll try to make things right as soon as possible.   

Thoughts on Chennaiyin FC’s stuttering home form.

Past is past, so we cannot get back the past so tomorrow is going to be a new day, a new challenge so I hope we can get three points. 

Is every match now a do or die for Chennaiyin FC?

Yes, we can’t lose any more matches. We just need to stay positive, we just need to keep believing in ourselves and move forward.   

Thoughts on the match.

I think it’s a very important match for us, there is a lot of rivalry and more. I think we need to win this match, especially for the fans. This means a lot to the fans and this match so I think we need to win this match for the fans.      

Will the team’s favourable record against Kerala Blasters FC be a factor?

Yes, I hope so but as I mentioned earlier, past is past so tomorrow is a new day, a new match. There is no easy match in the Hero ISL.

A word on the Chennaiyin FC fans.

Fans are most important in football so without them we are nothing, football is nothing so please come and support us.