New look Chennaiyin faces Odisha Challenge in season opener

CHENNAI: A new-look Chennaiyin FC under head coach Owen Coyle will look to make the most of the new season as it opens its Indian Super League (ISL) campaign against Odisha FC away from home on Saturday.

The two teams know each other really well, as their recent meeting was at the Bandodkar Memorial Trophy just two weeks ago when a solitary penalty strike from Diego Mauricio earned Juggernauts all three points.

Chennaiyin has had a major overhaul in the build-up to the new season, with as many as 15 players coming into the system. Discussing the team balance, head coach Owen Coyle said, “We are a smaller squad this season, but we have about two players in every position, and we didn’t have that sort of depth last season. This year, there are positions up for grabs; no player is safe in their position because someone else is breathing down their neck to get that spot, and that’s a good thing because when you have competition for places, players push themselves to do better.”

Despite making it to the play-offs for the first time in four years, Coyle acknowledged that the club was playing catch-up last season and is already looking at the challenges ahead of the new season, which starts with seven of the first 10 matches away from home. “There will always be a punch on the nose, but the important thing is we see beyond that, the bigger picture, and give it our very best,” added Coyle.

One of the major concerns Chennaiyin had last season was defensively conceding soft goals, and with fresh faces coming in, the likes of Laldinliana Renthlei and Ankit Mukherjee at right back, Mandar Desai and Vignesh Dakshinamurthy at left back, and skipper Ryan Edwards and Brazilian Elsonho Dias manning the center, the backline looks a lot improved.

The club's revamp began in January of this year, when DT Next reported that Coyle had already started signing players and was looking at fresh faces for the new season. Following his maiden call-up to the national team, Kiyan Nassiri, along with his Mohun Bagan teammate Lalrinliana Hnamte, will definitely need to step up for Chennaiyin if they aim to finish better this season.