‘In Jakarta, the other teams couldn’t keep up with us’

Physical strength was the main handicap. The other was the lack of a planned training routine. My first priority was to make a formal training programme and get people who have never done it stick to it. Training in the gymnasium is a must for footballers, so I concentrated on that, the cardio-vascular area. In Jakarta, the other teams couldn’t keep up with us. That’s because our running and stamina has improved. They have been doing various scientific running exercises and medicine ball trainings.

n You mention gym training, but the East Bengal club don’t have their own gym.

That’s right. A month before the ASEAN Cup, we moved to the Hyatt Regency in Calcutta and trained regularly at the gym there. So that was quite satisfactory.

n But what happens now that the tournament is over?

Well, we’ll have to find something. We don’t have anything at the moment. And that’s not really in my control. It’s up to the club authorities to find a good gym for the boys. Also, the team is not yet 100 per cent in terms of fitness. We’ll do a lot of advanced training now.

n What’s your particular brand of training and how the Indians are coping with it?

All they needed was discipline in their training. My biggest problem was that they were doing their exercises a day before the match and on the morning of matches. That’s not done. In fact, most of the heavy training needs to be done in the off-season. But now they are going to start playing and they have a huge number of matches lined up. I have some plans but don’t want to discuss them now, I need to first see how things shape up here and whether we can go to a gym regularly.

n Surely, having come from South Africa for a fair amount of money, you will have some sort of say in these matters?

Not really. I am just a physical trainer. I have a very small say in these things. I would appreciate it a lot if I were allowed to do things my way, but that’s not always possible. It’s not happening right now at least.

n Are there a few rifts appearing?

Well, no. The coach (Subhash Bhowmick) is doing his job, and I get along well with him. The management of the club is doing its job but often they don’t understand that it is the players who go out and win trophies for the club.

The officials don’t. The coach doesn’t. I don’t. But often that doesn’t happen. For the players to win, I need to have my way.

n Do you realise that you are part of a set-up that’s just created a piece of history in India and a lot of credit goes to you?

Yes, I do actually. I have been getting a lot of feedback from supporters, and though I don’t really understand Bengali, I understand they are crediting me with the superior fitness of the boys.And they are running a lot faster and longer than they used to. So it’s been good.

n Isn’t the language barrier a problem?

Only a couple of players at East Bengal don’t speak English, but there’s always someone to interpret. And I am picking up some awful-sounding words everyday, which they tell me I shouldn’t use in interviews.