A new-look Chennaiyin FC take on FC Goa in a tough away fixture in their first game of Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa on Wednesday, October 23. Chennaiyin FC have brought in a host of new players, both domestic and international, with the hope to banish their disappointments from last season. One such individual is Lithuanian forward Nerijus Valskis, who spoke to indiansuperleague.com in an exclusive interview. Here are a few excerpts.

Thoughts ahead of Chennaiyin FC’s first Hero ISL match of the season against FC Goa?

It is always good to start the season with a win. We don’t need to see who we are playing against; we only need to see how we play. I think we had a good pre-season; we stayed together for nearly two months, and I think we’re ready for this game. We have a lot of new players, who, I think will be very good.

Thoughts on forging a lethal partnership with fellow strike partners.

I hope we have a good relationship. I spoke a lot with Andre (Schembri), and we are good friends. With Jeje (Lalpekhlua), I did not get much time yet. I hope we have a great season together. It’s better to have many players scoring goals for the team, it is easier to win then.

Who are the leaders in the Chennaiyin squad, and which Indian player has impressed you the most?

We have a good team this time, not only me and Lucian (Goian) but also Andre (Schembri), and Rafael (Crivellaro). We also have good local players. They can see how we play one touch, two touch (passes) and how we take decisions. In training, it’s different but when you play a match, you don’t have time to think. And what I see from Rahim (Ali) is that he’s very fast player, and he has a good future ahead of him.

Read the Match Preview here.