Chennaiyin FC’s new head coach Csaba Laszlo believes that with players set to spend six months in a bio-secure bubble, maintaining a positive mentality and outlook will be a key challenge for teams. The 2020-21 Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) season will be held behind closed doors and Laszlo pointed at how players’ mentality could play an integral role in the upcoming campaign.

“If you stay together for six months and cannot go out, the mentality is the challenge. You face sadness, the attitude drops, so the most important (thing) will be how you manage to keep everybody happy and get everyone to focus on the training. For the players, I must be the wife, mother, father, friend and the coach. In my mind, I am already prepared. On the positive side, we don't have to travel and recovery time will be lesser,” the 56-year-old head coach shared in an Instagram chat with Apollo Sports.

The Marina Machans have won the coveted Hero ISL title on two occasions and Laszlo feels ‘privileged’ to coach the Chennai-based club. “Chennaiyin is the most successful team in the ISL. There is pressure but this is nice, I have the privilege to coach a successful team. The club has reached a stage where we can say, we are Chennaiyin. I have to step in and follow what they have built up and add new stones to what has already been built,” Laszlo said.

Laszlo, who is pleased with the direction of the club, also made it clear that getting to the playoffs is the immediate target for Chennaiyin in Hero ISL 2020-21. “We are moving in the right direction. I know the team will be good and very competitive. We are talking with players who are good enough to play for the club. We want to win the league and be the champions. But we have to work very hard for this and we must be a little lucky to not have many injuries. (The target is to) reach the playoffs,” he explained.

Chennaiyin have retained Rafael Crivellaro and Eli Sabia as well as a number of their Indian talents for the upcoming season, while bolstering their defence with the signings of Enes Sipovic, Reagan Singh and Lalchhuanmawia Fanai.