Bengaluru FC visit the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Saturday to take on defending champions ATK in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18. The Blues are at the top of the table and will be eager to take a step closer towards the playoffs by picking three points against a struggling side. Their captain and star striker Sunil Chhetri has been a key figure in shaping his team’s fortune and is also the season’s highest scoring Indian till date. Prior to the match at Kolkata, Chhetri took time to address indiansuperleague.com and share his thoughts on the league and the upcoming matches. Here are the excerpts.

This is your best season in terms of goal return. Thoughts on that?

I am really happy that we won our eight games. We are on top of the table right now and that gives a lot of confidence. More than the fact that Miku and I are getting goals, the more prominent factor is that we are winning games, which is very important. It keeps the morale of the whole team up and we get more chances. So, I am just happy with the fact that we are winning games.

What do you think would happen if you both are having an off-day?

Somebody else is going to chip in. We are scoring not just because the two of us are doing well. It’s a team effort. Everybody is providing well, we are playing well as a unit and that’s why we are getting goals. The day - hopefully, it does not happen - that Miku and I do not get goals, Edu (Garcia) will get goals, Udanta (Singh) is there, Dimas (Delgado) is there. Erik (Paartalu) has got some important goals, Juanan has got an important one and John (Johnson) is lethal from set-pieces. So, I think people are going to chip in.

Set-pieces have been your strength, but as the teams have started doing their homework, now you haven’t been scoring as much from them. Your thoughts on that?

It’s very normal. When you are dominant in set-pieces, people are going to read you. They pay more attention to you. But even then, we are a very strong team as far as set-pieces are concerned. Juanan, Erik, Miku, Rahul (Bheke) and (Harmanjot) Khabra are not bad options at all to have from set-pieces, and you have more chances of scoring goals. Also, the deliveries from Edu and Dimas have been brilliant. We work very hard from set-pieces. Out of every ten goals, five or more are from set-pieces. So, we work really hard on scoring from set-pieces and also defending from set-pieces.

Do you have any specific target that you want to achieve to guarantee a top-four finish?

Win as many games as possible and as soon as possible. It’s a very strange league where anyone can beat anyone on a given day. So, we don’t want to take our position for granted. We went to Delhi a few matches back and we were top of the table then, and we played a team who were bottom of the table and we got dominated and beaten by Delhi. So, we don’t want to take anything for granted. We know how much effort we have put in to reach here. And it’s not done yet. So, we want to get as many points as possible in the coming six games.

Bengaluru have scored most of their goals in the second half. Is it something you have spoken about in the dressing room?

The good thing is that we don’t give up and we keep on fighting. But we would love to score in the first half. We would love to score in the first minute if that’s possible. We try our best to score goals. We are a team that loves to attack. We primarily are an attack-minded team. So, we love to score whenever possible. But the fact that we are scoring more in the second half tells you that we don’t give up. We keep knocking on the doors, and that will be the same mantra for the upcoming games.

Balwant Singh, Jeje Lalpekhlua and you seem to be leading the Indian charge this season. Do you think an additional Indian player in the playing eleven has helped the cause?

Yes. Not only for the three of us but a lot of other players. And not only goal-scoring wise, performance-wise a lot of Indians have got opportunities and I am glad that they have taken it with both their hands. One of the players I want to take about is Anirudh Thapa from Chennaiyin FC. He is doing really well and I have great hopes from the kid. So, yes, getting one extra guaranteed position in the first eleven really helps the Indian boys. I hope that like they are doing here, in the future also, they grab their opportunities.