An English experiment with Indian football

“Indians have the potential and intelligence but needed to prove it at the international level,” Constantine said.

He said the players were not lacking self-confidence but the top-most priority was to achieve the required fitness levels.

The British coach who wants to experiment with total football to identify the grey areas in the team, said this would require flexibility, movement and positioning rather than depending on a particular formation.

Expressing the hope that the players would certainly enjoy total football, Constantine said many teams during the recent World Cup had followed this strategy. Asked about the prospect of the Indian team at the forthcoming Asian Games, he said it would be be premature to comment but match-to-match performance would be closely watched.

All matches would be taken seriously, he said.

Constantine said Indian probables were working hard at the preparatory camp at JRD Tata Sports Complex.. Clarifying that only fitness cannot help win matches, the British coach said other aspects of the game was also being taken care of. A 20-member Indian team, likely to be picked up here by the end of this week, would participate in a six-nation LG Cup tournament in Vietnam. India would take on Singapore in the tournament opener on August 2, he said.

Staing that this tournament would be a good exposure to ascertain the fitness level of the Indian players before the upcoming Asian Games, he said apart from conditioning camp and formulating strategy, the video footage was being used to overcome the shortcomings. The chief coach said three players – Sukumar Singh, Gumpherime and Khalid Jamil – have returned home with injury whereas a couple of players have complained of muscle strains.

However, he expressed hope that they would be fit shortly. Defender Tapan Ghosh did not join the camp due to his mother’s illness, he said.

To a query whether he was given a free hand in his job, Constantine shot back saying he would not have been here if it was not so.

About his contract with AIFF, Constantine, who coached Nepal’s soccer team for two years, said his contract has not yet been finalised but suggested that a coach should be given at least three years time to prepare a national team.