Finishing as runners-up after dominating the league for most of the season can be quite disheartening for any club. However, Bengaluru FC would prefer to leave behind the loss to Chennaiyin FC in the 2017-18 Hero Indian Super League (ISL) final and would be raring to begin the 2018-19 campaign with renewed hope and vigour.

At the Hero ISL Media Day held in Bengaluru on Thursday, indiansuperleague.com caught up with the Blues new head coach Carles Cuadrat, custodian Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and midfield marshall Dimas Delgado for exclusive interviews ahead of the upcoming season.

Albert Roca’s successor

With a new coach at the helm, fans and critics alike have voiced their concerns about Bengaluru’s chances for the new season. However, Cuadrat is no stranger to the Bengaluru set-up, having served as an assistant coach to Albert Roca for a number of years and hence, unsurprisingly, it was an easy decision for him when he was offered the head coach role.

“Well, it has been an interesting moment for me because it’s the first time as a head coach. I see this is the best place to do that because I know the club and the club knows me. Players, management and supporters know me as well. I’m happy to be here.”

Cuadrat also spoke of his relationship with Roca and the kind of understanding he shares with the club’s former manager. “We are friends and we talk every day. So, of course, he gives me advice on a lot of things and hence, we are not changing a lot of things. We believe in one way to watch football and it is what I’m trying now,; to keep doing the same for the club and for the supporters to make them happy.”

Gurpreet to lead from the back

With John Johnson and Subhasish Bose leaving the club, the onus will be on Gurpreet Singh to lead the defence from the back. The goalkeeper acknowledged that the two players will be a big loss but pointed out the ability of the replacements.

“I think those two players were a huge loss for us. They were very good and they loved the club and I wish them all the best for the upcoming season but the reinforcements are good as well. We have Albert (Serran) coming in from Spain and we have Rino (Anto), so I think we have experience in our defence now. We'll just try to make it as difficult as possible for teams to break us.”

Dimas’ time to shine

One player who will be counted at the centre of the park this season will be Dimas Delgado. The Spanish playmaker missed large spells of last season owing to injury troubles. Now that he is fit, Delgado is ready to lead Bengaluru’s attacking exploits.

“I can’t wait. I have come a long way, I have worked hard to be fit. Now I feel 100 percent and I feel really good. So, I’m just looking forward to the start of the season.”