'Chennaiyin FC to enter Super Cup with intent to win'

Chennaiyin FC coach John Gregory feels that after lifitng the Indian Super League (ISL) trophy, his side will look to repeat the honours when they have when they begin their Super Cup 2018 campaign against Aizawl FC on Saturday.

"The Super League season has ended. The euphoria of winning the final is already over and now we have another challenge right in front of us. We are a very professional outfit and we're back to the ground now to focus on this tournament starting tomorrow with every intention of winning," Gregory said.

The ISL champions had played a pre-season friendly match against the 2017 I-League champions in October and Gregory mentioned that his team have knowledge of the Highlanders' capability on the pitch and how fierce the contest is going to be tomorrow.

"We played a pre-season game against them. We know a bit about them. They were very successful last season, became I-League champions. We are obviously aware of the fact that it's going to be a fiercely contested game tomorrow."

Dhanapal Ganesh who is back from the Indian National Team setup following the AFC Asian Cup qualifier game added, "We had enjoyed a lot after winning the ISL title but now we're focusing on tomorrow's match. It's definitely going to be a tough challenge for us."

Nonetheless, the coach hinted that he might throw in a few new players into the ring tomorrow.

"In the ISL, we couldn't experiment much as all the games were very crucial. There's always a possibility of throwing 1-2 players with lesser experience to tomorrow's game who couldn't game more opportunity before," Gregory said.

On the other hand, Aizawl FC coach Santosh Kashyap stressed that the match is very evenly poised and his boys can prevail over Chennaiyin FC.

"We are a young team and we are pitted against one of the best teams. But anyone can beat anyone in a knock-out tournament. We'll try to do our best and win tomorrow's game," Kashyap said.

He further added, "My players are fighters by heart. It's a great opportunity and we'll put the best effort to win the game. The boys are here to cope up with the new challenge. It's nothing but a 50-50 before the game kicks off tomorrow. If we perform to our potential, we can beat them", Kashyap rattled it out during the pre-match press conference.

Meanwhile, he informed that David Lalrinzuala is injured and is not available for the opening match.