Bhutia,Houghton have reasons to complain

“Players coming through the club structure should be good enough to play for the country. That is how the system works in the best footballing countries across the world. Unfortunately,our clubs are not doing that,” Bhutia said on the sidelines of a training session. India play Thailand in the home leg of the international friendly on Wednesday. India lost 0-1 in the first leg played in Bangkok.

Bhutia also felt that clubs must be more open to allowing players to play for the national team.”Every time a club decided that they must hold back a player,the national side loses its rhythm,” Bhutia said.

“When I first started playing we would have 40-50 players showing up at the national camp. Most of the time was spent in just selecting the players. Now the team is more settled. There is continuity in the team. So the players are more confident and are able to feel secure.”

Bhutia,at 33,the oldest member of the squad believes that this India side has a great future. “Almost all the players who featured in the last match (against Thailand on Saturday) were young,except Mahesh (Gawli). Seventy per cent of this side has an average age of 25. That is a good sign.” Bhutia marked out Mohd Rafi,who is making his international debut,as a special talent. “He has got great potential and has a great future.”

Coach Bob Houghton was upbeat when asked about the team’s chances. Houghton said that the players were jet-lagged going into the game against Thailand in Bangkok. The India side had flown in from Lisbon after a training session and didn’t get enough time to recoup before their first-leg game.

“We were good defensively,but not so good in attack. We created more chances… many more than Thailand did. But we were unable to convert opportunities. But there are no excuses,” Houghton said.

Houghton’s remarks were echoed by Manchester United legend Bryan Robson,who coaches Thailand.

“They (India) played well in the second session and they were very aggressive after we scored a goal (in 73rd minute). What many teams do is they lose focus or just stray away after a goal is conceded. But India kept on pressing for the equaliser,” Robson said. Houghton said that he wasn’t amused by snide remarks aimed at the team after they lost after training abroad. “We were not on holiday. We went abroad because we don’t have the best facilties here.” Following the match against Thailand,India will be playing against two African teams — Gambia and Namibia. Ahead of the 2011 Asian Cup,Houghton believed it would be better if India played against teams from the continent.

“We could win 7-0 or we could lose 1-0 and we wouldn’t know what it would mean when we play non-Asian countries. We need to be playing Asian sides like Yemen and North Korea so that we can quantify our progress.”Midfielder Renedy Singh won’t play the game on Wednesday after being diagnosed with a strain in his hamstring.