India international Jackichand Singh, who recently joined Jamshedpur FC on a three-year deal, is excited to play alongside Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20’s Golden Boot winner Nerijus Valskis. Having seen the turnaround in form of the Owen Coyle-led Chennaiyin FC side last season, Jackichand also hailed his new head coach at Jamshedpur.

“Nerujis Valskis was in excellent form last season. He is a striker and I am a winger. I will assist him for many goals which he will surely score. I am looking forward to forming a combination up front with him. The pre-season is a few weeks away and I am excited,” Jackichand said in an interview with sportskeeda.com.

“Owen Coyle surprised everyone in the previous season. Chennaiyin had a late splurge in form and qualified for the semi-finals by winning almost all games in the business end of the season. It was impressive and I am looking forward to playing under such an approach,” he added.

Like Chennaiyin, who fell short in the last hurdle in the previous campaign, Jackichand knows what it’s like to lose a Hero ISL final. “The ISL 2019 final with Bengaluru FC in Mumbai is a game, I will never forget. We (FC Goa) played brilliantly throughout the season but stumbled upon in the final. We lost the game 1-0 due to Rahul Bheke scoring the only goal. We were devastated after the game," he said.

Even though Jamshedpur have never qualified for the Hero ISL playoffs, the 28-year-old is happy to have joined the club. Jamshedpur FC boast strong infrastructure, including the famed Tata Football Academy, which has produced stars like Subrata Paul, and Jackichand spoke highly about the team’s academy citing it as one of his reasons for shifting base from FC Goa.

“Tata Football Academy is also one of the reasons, I chose Jamshedpur FC over other clubs. When I was in Army Boys Sports Company, there was always an objective to go on to play in the Tata Football Academy. Tata Football Academy was and is one of the best football academies in India. I could not play in the esteemed academy and I have come to complete my wish now. I would like to experience the Tata Football Academy,” he stated.

That said, the diminutive winger made it clear that the academy wasn’t the only thing that attracted him to Jamshedpur. “I chose Jamshedpur FC because the project looked exciting and promising. The city has nice weather, which is something very important to me. In football, climate plays a very big role in player development. Jamshedpur FC is a very professional club; they hosted away teams very well,” Jackichand said.