Head coach Stephen Constantine close to Indian national team exit?

Constantine returned for his second stint with the Indian team this year

A series of dismal performances by the Indian national football team at the ongoing 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers could see the All India Football Federation (AIFF) remove Stephen Constantine as Head Coach very soon. Lack of positive results from the junior national team has also put Assistant and U-19 Coach Lee Johnson in the firing line.

The U-19 team lost three consecutive matches at the AFC U-19 Championship, including a 0-7 drubbing at the hands of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A senior AIFF official told Sportskeeda, “the results have not been satisfactory so far, both the senior and U-19 team have not been upto the mark. There will be some changes within the national team setup soon.”

During an AIFF Technical Committee meeting last month, AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das stated that Constantine’s fate would only be decided, after their final group fixture against Guam. However, the senior team’s inability to garner results, along with pressure from various streams might just prepone that decision.

Constantine has been vocal about the technical committee’s functioning for a while now. The 53-year old has already been reprimanded by the AIFF for his comments on the technical committee. The same source said, “Constantine is here to Coach, he shouldn’t delve into matters, concerning the technical committee. We have people adept at doing the job.”

He added, “Constantine was among the eight we shortlisted from around 40 candidates. A certain section of the committee was convinced, he was the perfect Coach, considering his prior experience. Everybody agreed to this decision.”

Constantine’s willingness to bring Johnson into the national team setup, also didn’t go down to well with the committee. According to sources, the technical committee had a domestic Coach in mind to fill the vacant U-19 position, however, Constantine harped on including Johnson, eventually leading to his acquisition.

A loss to Guam in their final game will see India become a tier 4 country in Asia. Only two other countries, Cambodia and Bhutan are yet to register a point in the qualifiers so far. Earlier, several national team players came out in support of Constantine asking the fans to give him some more time. Striker Robin Singh had earlier told Sportskeeda, “You have to see the average age of the team, a lot of them are playing international football for the first time. It’s going to take time, but we are taking positive steps forwards.”