Nine days to go! The 2018-19 season of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) promises to be like nothing before with a packed schedule and a host of promising players taking centre stage. On Thursday, the first stage of the Hero ISL Media Day was held at Bengaluru, with players and coaches from Chennaiyin FC, Bengaluru and Kerala Blasters FC present to address the media ahead of the new season.

Stuff of champions

From the defending champions’ end, head coach John Gregory, Jeje Lalpekhlua and Inigo Calderon were present to talk about the road ahead and their chances for the new season.

Gregory spoke on the kind of approach the team is taking, coming into the season as defending champions. “A lot of it is mental and not just physical. When Sir Alex Ferguson won his first championship in the 90's, all he wanted to do was go and win it the following season. And he did it 13 times. That’s the true sign of a champion. You don’t just win it once, you go back and win it. And that’s what I have tried to instil in my squad - that’s the true sign of a champion. Real champions don’t just win it once - they go back and win it the year after and the year after that.”

Continuing on the same note, he spoke on the mental attitude of the players. “There is a mental toughness that you must have and it all started when my players showed up on the first day of pre-season. One of the things we looked at was their attitude and they had an even better attitude that they had twelve months ago.”

New coach, same old Bengaluru

New head coach of Bengaluru Carles Cuadrat was also present alongside Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Dimas Delgado to talk about their preparations. The Spaniard shed light on the style of football that will be employed by the side under his stewardship, after the departure of Albert Roca. “Albert and me like the same kind of football. It is about possession-based football and to make a nice show for the supporters who enjoy watching an attacking game.”

Despite the departures of key players from the squad, Cuadrat remained upbeat about his side’s chances. “It happens a lot in football because you lose players in the transfer market. I am happy with the squad we have got and we have been working hard for the last two months. I hope that we can perform at a good level.”

Counting on home talent

Finally, from Kerala’s end, head coach David James, Anas Edathodika and Courage Pekuson were present to take questions from the media. James primarily spoke on the new recruitment system that the team had employed, which laid an emphasis on homegrown talent.

“Traditionally, teams will go for foreign players and then fill in the gaps with local players. For us, it was about getting the best quality from the local players. I think it was more about the personnel being the right players for the Kerala Blasters, that was very important. I told all the players that you’re signing for a club where you are not just playing for a football club, you are representing a region and all the players have bought into that.”