Calcutta: Islam Akhmedov’s association with Indian football may be as good as over now. The Uzbek himself knows that it’s time to go.

“My contract with the AIFF was till the AFC Youth Championship. With India now out of it, may be this is my last match… I’ll sit with the AIFF officials soon and take a decision (to this effect),” Akhmedov said on Thursday.

The India coach, however, praised his boys for their hard work. “They trained hard for a year but unfortunately, we had no luck. As a professional, you need success to stay on,” he said.

Picking Vimal Pariyar (who missed the meet due to injury) and Sushil Singh as future stars of India, Akhmedov, however, insisted that they need to train hard at the club-level football.

“Look at players like Debabrata Roy, Habibur Rahman Mondal, Gourmangi, Jerry Zirsangha… they were supposed to take Indian football to another level but they failed to keep that promise. Unless you nurture your talents properly, you can’t get results in the future,” the Uzbek pointed out.

AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco, meanwhile, said that the next calendar will be finalised after consultation with senior coach Bob Houghton. He didn’t specify anything about Akhmedov’s future, only saying that his contract runs till December 31.