Bob Houghton

New Delhi: National coach Bob Houghton said on Monday that he would not hesitate to put in his papers if things do not work out the way he wants in the near future.

In an interview with The Telegraph the 60-year-old British coach said: “I have been doing my job with utmost dedication and passion. I am trying to help out Indian football in the best way I can. I am hopeful that India would do well in the AFC Challenge Cup.

“I am not thinking about what will happen if India don’t do well in Hyderabad. But if someone out there then really suggests that I am not needed, I will not take much time to say ‘Thank you very much’ and part company,” Houghton said.

The national coach said he was disappointed to see India losing to Maldives in the SAFF Cup final, but said things would improve if his suggestions were taken seriously.

“Only eight months are left with my three-year contract,” Houghton pointed out. “Yet, I have been constantly talking about youth development and what India should do to realise their 2018 World Cup dream. I will not be benefited out of it. Still I am saying it because I want Indian football to progress.”

Houghton said that even the responsible people in Indian football want the coach to go around with a magic wand and take the team to the pinnacle of glory. “There are some people, who think that someone like Scolari or Hiddink would be able to take India to the top. That’s a fairytale idea.”

Injuries to key players, Houghton said, were the main reasons for India’s disappointing performance in the SAFF Cup. “In the Nehru Cup, the only player to get injured was Dipak (Mondal). In the SAFF Cup, too many players were injured — (K) Ajayan, Surkumar (Singh), (NS) Manju, Steven Dias, Rennedy Singh. It was a big setback.”

“I sometimes ponder what AFC is all about,” Houghton said. “In the SAFF Cup, we were made to play five matches in 11 days under the scorching sun and on a ground that was harder than a marble floor. Whoever be the opponents, you can’t play any better football under such circumstances.”

Asked why he didn’t try some young players, the coach said the change would only come gradually. “If there are 70 Indians footballers playing regularly in the I-League, I know at least 60 of them very well. You name a talented youngster and he has been called to the camp. But you cannot experiment with the national team. You are there to win matches.

“What is needed is to put a system in order. A good I-League played in the weekends along with state league matches in the mid-week will throw up a lot of new players. Tell me, how many I-League clubs allow the youngsters to play regularly?”

Asked why he doesn’t prefer to stay with the players in the team hotel, Houghton said: “The players are 20, I am 60. They shouldn’t feel that they are being watched constantly. Those who have been talking about it are far removed from the realities of Indian football. Do they feel that’s the most important problem of Indian football today?”