Chennaiyin FC will be eyeing their first win of the season when they take on FC Pune City at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium in Pune. The defending champions have had a horrific start to their Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2018-19 campaign and are languishing at the bottom of the table, having just claimed one point in six matches. With FC Pune City in deep waters themselves, the Marina Machans will be hoping to make the most of their opponent’s poor form and return home with maximum points.

Ahead of the bottom of the table clash, Chennaiyin’s head coach John Gregory was asked about the tactical changes required to clinch their first win. “Well, obviously, because we didn’t win, we will have to look for ways to win our next match. I’ve got 25 fit players, all very fit, all without a suspension as well. So, I can choose from all the 25. So, in that respect if I need to make changes, I have many players to choose from,” he told the reporters at the pre-match press conference.

Chennaiyin have never lost against Pune in the Hero ISL and when asked if the record will be an advantage going into the match, Gregory stressed that history counts for nothing. “No, not at all. It’s nice to know that we have had a very good record against Pune, but you still need to go out there and win. Just the fact that history would suggest that it’s been one of our luckier teams to play against counts for nothing. You still have to go out on the field and win,” he said.

“I’m sure Pune will be going all-out to break the hoodoo that they’ve had against us in the past. We can’t just rely on luck or history, we have to go out there and get a result, a victory,” he added.

The Englishman also expressed his embarrassment with his team’s position on the table and said, “Our season has been an embarrassment for me in particular. After having such a fantastic season last year, I’m very embarrassed about the position that we find ourselves in at the moment and with the fact that we’ve got only one point from the games we’ve played so far. So, we need to do something about it and we need to do something about it fast. Talking is not going to make it change. It’s all on the field of play. That’s where the real talking has to be done. I need to pick a team that has the desire and hunger to get the three points,” he said.

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