Plan to win every match, says India coach ahead of Taipei tie
MUMBAI: India coach Stephen Constantine said he has “broken things down and have set the plans to win each of these three games” in the Intercontinental Cup. Constantine was speaking at the official pre-tournament press conference in Mumbai on Thursday.
India take on Chinese Taipei in the opening match at the Mumbai Football Arena on Friday. “We will use this tournament as a preparation for the Asian Cup. I am aware of the quality of the players whom Kenya and New Zealand have brought in and they are playing all across Europe.”
“The quality of those leagues matter. We are using this game to develop and improve,” Constantine added. “Kenya and New Zealand will be giving us different problems and we need them in our developmental process. Physically we are prepared and we need to prepare tactically.”
Skipper Sunil Chhetri said: “It was a mixed bag when I first arrived at the camp. There were some players who hadn’t played for almost a month while there were some who joined the camp straight from an AFC Cup match. But we are ready now.”
Chhetri who is two matches short of becoming the secondever India player with 100 international caps after Bhaichung Bhutia, said there is a lot of “awareness” among the players since he first started off.
“The present generation is much more aware. The boys have more knowledge of what to do and what not to. They are willing to take care of themselves and their nutrition,” he stated.
Referring to the “programme coming up” Constantine felt there is a “lot of Football to be played between now and the Asian Cup.”
“We have quite a programme coming up. We have the Asian Games, the SAFF Championships, the October and November windows. It’s quite a busy schedule. There is a lot of football to be played between now and the Asian Cup. I have 11 U-23 players in the squad but we also need the senior players lead, guide and mentor these players,” he said..
“It’s all about performance, work. It doesn’t matter whom we play. Whoever is in front of us is the team we need to beat.”