NorthEast United FC take on Chennaiyin FC in the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Thursday. NorthEast’s last win of the campaign came way back in November 2019 and the Highlanders will be desperate to end the worrying run with a victory over the two-time champions.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, NorthEast head coach Robert Jarni spoke about NorthEast’s recent slump and said, “We lost a couple of matches as well as points in the last minutes of the game. We have a very young team, a very promising team. We lost Asamoah Gyan, who cannot be with us. He is a big miss, both on and off the pitch. We were unlucky because we lost those games in the last minute. Moreover, Gyan was injured and we played without him. So, when we add all this together, that made a huge difference. But I have maximum trust in my players, which is why we are not afraid. The players are becoming better every day during the training sessions. That gives me hope.”

Speaking about the upcoming challenge, Jarni opined, “We are expecting a very tough game. Under their new coach, Chennaiyin look like a very good side. But we also believe in our qualities. We must be in the top four and that means we have to work harder. We lost a lot of quality players from the last season. We believe in the younger players. It is a chance for them to get experience which will help them grow into much better players.”

The Croat singled out young striker Rupert Nongrum, who attended the briefing with him, as an example and remarked, “Rupert suffered from a long-term injury. He has been training hard over the last few months. When we saw him for the first time, we started believing in him. He played very well against Goa, and if he keeps on working hard, he will be a fantastic player.”

Nongrum, meanwhile, spoke about the upcoming challenge and noted, “We have been working very hard since the last match. Everyone is very positive. Chennaiyin are a tough team who are in good form now. But we have come here to win, and we are not scared of them. We have come here to win the three points and we will try to do that.”

Read the Match Preview here.