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Bengaluru FC coach Ashley Westwood is now a serious contender to become the head coach of the Indian Football team. The position has been vacant since Wim Koevermans resigned from the post in October earlier this year, after a two-and-half year spell as the coach of the team.
The 38-year-old was instrumental in guiding Bengaluru FC to their I-League title in their debut season and seems to have won the vote-of-confidence from the All India Football Federation(AIFF) officials and only an official go-ahead from the AIFF technical committee is now required before he can be appointed.
Looking to appoint Westwood once his contract at Bengaluru FC ends: AIFF
Westwood’s contract at the club ends in May 2015 and it is learnt that the federation wants to bring him on board once he fulfils his commitments over there.
“India does not have any international assignments between now and June next year. It makes sense for the AIFF to wait till Westwood completes his engagements with Bengaluru FC," said one source.
An AIFF official told Goal that the friendly, which India were due to play in March next year has been cancelled as the I-league would be on at that time.That means that the team won't play any matches till June.
"The AIFF have cancelled a friendly which we are due to play in the last week of March (23rd to 31st) as the I-League will be in full swing. Also if we have a short camp with a new coach before the friendly and if the result is poor, it will lead to a lot of negativity and the coach wouldn't have enough time to stamp his authority. As a result, the next assignment for the national coach would only be in June," the official said.
Westwood was part of the Manchester United set-up during the early stages of his footballing career and played for as many as 12 teams in the Football League in England. He also played for clubs in Thailand and Vietnam. He was part of the Blackburn Rovers coaching set-up but was sacked in March 2013.
NorthEast United FC manager Ricki Herbert was also a contender to take over as the head coach of the national team. India are ranked 171st in the latest FIFA Rankings.
