Hoping to put behind the disappointment of narrowly missing out on a semi-final berth last season, NorthEast United FC have already signed a host of players, domestic as well as foreign, and named highly experienced Portuguese Nelo Vingada as their head coach for Hero ISL 2016. Re-signing Nicolas Velez, who scored five goals and provided one assist for the Highlanders in Season 2, has been another success for the Guwahati-based outfit in view of their big ambitions this season. The 26-year-old frontman recently spoke to indiansuperleague.com and hoped that he and the team will do better in the third edition of the league.“It was a great experience to play in the ISL last season. Sad not to get to the semis, but it was a great experience to play with big players like Simao and against players like Elano and Adrian Mutu. I hope we can do better this season,” Velez said.“Yes, I scored five goals last season but I think I can score more this season. I will work very hard for it. So my expectation is to basically score more goals and try to help the team this season. Hopefully, we will perform better for everyone.“For me, I would like to concentrate more on my finishing. Last season, I got many chances to score, including two or three chances which were declared off-side. But, this is part and parcel of the game. For the team, I just think we need to start winning games. Last season, we couldn’t get a point in the first three games. After the third game, we beat the best team in the Hero ISL. All in all, we got 20 points from 11 games. So I think this year it would be very important to start the Hero ISL with a winning mentality,” he added.Velez also shared his favourite moment from the second edition of the ISL. “I liked the moment when I scored my first goal against Chennaiyin FC in Guwahati last season. We were 0-0 till the time Simao scored a penalty and I followed it up late on with a goal. It was my first goal, our first victory at home and in the league. Therefore, this was my best moment last season,” he said.Velez also hailed their marquee player from last season, Simao Sabrosa. “For us, he was one of the most important players in the squad, both on the pitch and off it. He gave his experience to the team. Everyone knows him just as a player but outside the pitch his contribution was very important,” he said.When asked to comment on the unique format of the Hero ISL, Velez didn’t try to play down the challenges it poses. “We play every four days. It’s very hard. As we are in the north-east, we travel a lot. Therefore, it is very important to use the rest day for full recovery.”Velez also underlined the importance of a good pre-season for which the Highlanders will be heading to South Africa soon. “It will be very important. It will be a good time to be here together, to meet each other and to know what’s best for everyone. It’s important for us to have a great time in South Africa, to play some friendly games and when we come back to India, we just have 10 days to play our first game,” he said.Lastly, Velez heaped praise on the Highlanders’ fans and claimed that he feels at ‘home’ in NorthEast United FC colours. “I can’t thank the fans enough. They have always supported us. I can feel it. It’s very important for me and one of the big reasons why I’m here with this club again. When I was talking to the staff, I told them that I feel like I am at home.“I am very happy here and I hope I can share the same happiness with our fans this season because they support us everywhere and they deserve it. I think everyone is motivated. When you see all your fans before the game, you just need to go out and fight for them, the club and for the people who have helped us in everything. I think everyone knows where we are and we know we need to work very hard this year to make it to the semis,” he concluded.
