Jagbir unlikely for Azlan Shah

‘‘There is still another round of meeting to be held — with the Director General of the Sports Authority of India — and once the modalities are over, and SAI clearance is obtained, the coach will be announced,’’ he added.

Another official affirmed that a decision is sure by Thursday or Friday.

Even as the confusion prevails, one thing seems very clear: Jagbir Singh, who was assistant to Gerhard Rach at Athens Olympics, has reportedly pulled himself out of the race.

Jagbir’s withdrawal would be a blow for the team since he enjoys players’ support and is said to be good at man management with the reputation of being a thinking coach.

A regular member and a senior-most player in the squad said that at this level, ‘‘a coach cannot teach you something drastically new. What he can do is to take all the players and combine their individual strengths into a team. Unfortunately, that is not something most coaches have been able to do so far.’’

Another said, ‘‘the players don’t have any say, but I hope they appoint someone who understands the game and the continues with the development of the game.’’

Meanwhile, the names doing the rounds in the absence of Jagbir are: Rajinder Singh (coach of Punjab & Sind Bank), Narender Pal Singh and Vasudevan Bhaskaran. Among the contenders, Rajinder seems to be the frontrunner.