John Gregory. (TOI Photo)

CHENNAI: Following a disastrous last-place finish last season, Chennaiyin FC will be hoping to bounce back in style when the new ISL season kicks off later this month. Chennaiyin, who unveiled their squad at a city hotel here on Thursday, will open their campaign against FC Goa in an away match on October 23 before facing Mumbai City FC at home four days later.

Coach John Gregory, who is in his third consecutive season with the club, said that he is looking to start with a clean slate. "We aren't dwelling in the past. We have learnt our lessons from last season and want to move on. There were many of us who were stuck in season four when we had become champions. We were living on those memories. For that, I take responsibility as I couldn't motivate my players. But this time, we have decided to take a completely fresh approach," Gregory told a press conference.

Ringing in changes, Chennaiyin have brought in nine new faces, including six foreigners, and offloaded as many as 12 players from last season. Gregory said that his stint in Indian football has taught him that quality foreign players make the difference between a good and a mediocre side. "You need to have outstanding foreigners in Indian football as they do make the difference. You need to build your team around them. Last season, the top four teams' overseas players performed exceptionally well. We, on the other hand, didn't work as hard as we would have loved to. With Inigo (Calderon) and Henrique Sereno leaving us, we failed to plug the holes in defence. That's why we have brought in Lucian Goian from Mumbai City this time to strengthen our backline. He has leadership qualities in him and hopefully he can replicate what Sereno did for us," Gregory said.

The 65-year-old British coach also pointed out that Chennaiyin lacked a striker last season. "We lacked a goal scorer last season. Jeje (Lalpekhlua) was playing with an injury and wasn't at his best. We didn't have a backup striker and faltered. We created a lot of chances but there wasn't anyone to take them. We looked for strikers who can score consistently this season and Maltese Andre Schembri and Lithuanian Nerijus Valskis fit the bill. They have done well during pre-season and hopefully can perform when it matters," he said.

With the arrival of new players, Gregory had to change his playing style. "When you have a new set of players, you also need to tweak your style a bit. I feel we will play a bit quicker. We also have a left-footed player in Brazilian Rafael Crivellaro in the midfield. He is very elegant and the understanding between Rafael and (Anirudh) Thapa has been brilliant. If they click, our midfield will be dynamic," he said.

'Some Indian players just happy to be there': Gregory also came down heavily on the attitude of a few Indian players. He said that he wants his players to be ruthless. "There are a lot of Indian players who are just happy to be here. I want them to make use of this platform. Overall, I want my players to be ruthless and tireless. They should be going for the kill all the time. That is what I want to bring into the system this season. They need to have that mental strength," he said.

