CHENNAI: And so it’s done. Putting rest to speculation, Stephen Constantine, on Tuesday, confirmed that he had accepted the All India Football Federation’s offer to extend his tenure for one more year.
“After accepting my second contract extension with the All India Football Federation, I will have the longest tenure of any foreign coach in Indian history, with a total of seven years,” the English coach wrote on his blog. “I am, of course, immensely proud of that and of our accomplishments in both stints. This time round, qualifying for the Asian Cup in 2019, winning the SAFF (Cup) and taking India to its highest ranking in modern history, 96, are all great achievements.”
The renewal effectively means that, barring major surprises, Constantine will be leading India out during the Asian Cup in January 2019. AIFF’s decision to extend his contract comes after reports that several players were not happy with the coach’s tactics and training methods. That, and the fact that AIFF had not offered a pay-rise to Constantine, had fuelled doubts as to whether he would accept the extension. There were also rumours that he had offers to coach in Qatar.
Interestingly, Constantine appeared to extend an olive branch to certain players. “The door is open to any Indian player who is willing to do the work, the job we need him to, in the national team,” he wrote, the sentence highlighted in bold.
Constantine also confirmed India’s calendar in the run-up to the Asian Cup next year. As Express had reported, India will host a four-nation tournament in June, play the Asian Games in August and then play the SAFF Cup in September. After a couple of friendlies, they will then hold a month-long camp in December to prepare for the Asian Cup.
“We are going to need all hands on deck going forward. As always with me, it is the players that are willing to play for the team and do the work that interest me,” Constantine wrote. “We have shown over the last two years that the current group of players are fighters and will give everything in every game.”