Souvik Chakrabarti shares a few words after his first start of the current campaign.

An experienced presence in the dressing room in the first few games, Souvik Chakrabarti got his chance for Hyderabad against ATK Mohun Bagan recently and he did not disappoint. The 28-year-old put in a controlled midfield performance, also playing a role in the build-up to the penalty Nikhil Poojary was awarded.

We caught up with our No 23, who spoke about the outing against ATKMB, the impact of youngsters in the squad at HFC, the preparations for the next game and more…

On making his first start of the season…

It was nice to make my first start but I have mixed feelings about the result. I cannot say I am too happy with a point after the performance we put on. It would have felt great if we managed to take all three points from the game.

On picking themselves up after conceding the goal against ATKMB…

It was important that we did not lose hope after going behind and continue to believe in ourselves. We were not ready to give up after Manvir’s goal and as a team, we performed quite well.

To bounce back from it, gives confidence to the team, not just to end the game strongly, but for the rest of the season as well.

On the unbeaten start to the ISL and the impact of the coaching staff…

Yes, unbeaten in the Indian Super League is a good assessment of our performances so far. As a team, we always want to put in the hard work and continue this form. Our coaching staff are also helping us, working hard on our defensive organization and I am happy with the way we have played so far.

On the impact of the youngsters at the club…

As a senior, I can tell you, that in training and in the games, our youngsters are playing extremely well. But we are just four games into a long season and I hope there are many more such performances to come from this team.

Gearing up for SC East Bengal…

We expect it to be one of the toughest games of the season so far. Every team in the ISL is a strong team. SCEB will want to get some points on the board and will make this a really good match-up