Trivandrum , December 24 : Hosts India kick start their campaign at the SAFF Cup against Sri Lanka here on Friday . India are clubbed in Group A along with Nepal and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka are ranked 194th as compared to India who are placed at 166th . The British coach is in the process of rebuilding the squad ,“ When I took over I had to make a choice — either to continue with the tried and tested whose average age was around 30, or to rebuild the squad. I opted for the second despite being aware that it won’t deliver you immediate results,”
It’s a new look Indian squad with most of the footballers below 23 . Jeje Lalpekhlua, Pritam Kotal, Narayan Das, Rowlin Borges, Pronay Halder, Holicharan Narzary, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Kaushik Sarkar, Thongkhosiem Haokip, Sumit Passi are all below 23. When did India last have it for a Senior Team?
Constantine had to be satisfied with the players he got , as there have been a few injury concerns , “We have lost Sandesh (Jhingan who’s also an U-23 Player), Lobo (Cavin) and Seityasen Singh. Anas pulled a hamstring and we had to release him too. Besides, there are a number of guys whom we need to be careful with .”
“I could have easily played Jhingan and Lobo. They could have played in this Tournament and their presence would have certainly strengthened my squad. But if I played them here they would have missed the next six months,” this time Constantine shakes his head.
In the Footballing World, the true definition of a coach stays in protecting his players and not exploiting them for short term results, any sensible one will reiterate umpteenth times.
On being asked what he reckons about his opponents for tommorows match , Constantine was cautious, “They play a defensive formation and will hit us on the counter attacks. They have some decent Players and work extremely hard. There are no easy games for us — in fact, against anybody. I expect Sri Lanka to give everything they have. We have to be patient and see what happens.”
Referring to a question whether Subrata (Paul) can push Gurpreet (Singh Sandhu and retain his position under the citadel, Constantine hits back hard. “If Subrata didn’t have a chance he won’t have been here. I have never had any attachment for players of what they have done in the past,” he states sternly.
India will be hoping to get a win under it’s belt as a positive start is all Constantine will be looking forward to . India won the prestigious South Asian Football competition in 1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, and 2011. Afghanistan are the defending champions; they defeated India in the 2013 final in Nepal.