India capable of competing against any team, says Constantine

India football coach Stephen Constantine has insisted that the current team is capable of competing against any team in the world.

"When I came in, I remember mentioning that it's a learning process as you cannot build a team within a week or a month. It has taken around two years for us to build a side who I think on any given day are capable of competing against any team," he said.

However, despite India reaching 100 in the FIFA Rankings, Constantine stressed that "we have not achieved anything as yet."

India have won 11 of the last 13 matches including the unofficial friendly match against Bhutan.

 

When asked about the secret of the same, Constantine said it was the combination of hard work and self-belief.

"I don't think there is any secret. It's been a combination of hard work and self-belief," he said.

He also said that he doesn't care about names but expects players to work hard in preparation camp being organized in Mumbai ahead of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup qualifier against Kyrgyzstan.

"I don't care about names. I expect the players to do the hard work when they report to the Camp," said Constantine.

"The willingness to do the work defines a player for me. As and when any player raises his hand to do it, he is available for selection in my squad," he added.

Commenting on the improvement in the side since he took over, Constantine said, "One of the major improvements has been the manner in which we prepare for our matches."

"Our training sessions are all based on how we would play in the game and according to the physical attributes required for each specific position. So even though our training sessions may look easy from the stands, it deals with the players are required to do in their positions," he added.

He added that the use of the GPS systems has been a novelty.

"The information which we have been able to attain has been huge as it confirms to us what is done in training and in matches too," he said.

"Another very important factor has been the buy-in to the philosophy by all the players and the staff, thereby accepting an ultimatum and doing the work that is required," he added.