Bob Houghton

New Delhi: Leading I-League coaches categorically told Bob Houghton on Sunday that they were not in a position to rest the top players in the local league matches for the sake of the national team.

Houghton, who had a meeting with the I-League coaches in Goa, urged them not to field the Indian team footballers in all club matches except in the I-League and the Federation Cup.

According to sources, Houghton pointed out that it was impossible to lift the standard of the game in the country without the national team doing well on the international circuit.

“If the national team does not perform well, the spectators and the sponsors won’t feel encouraged to be associated with the game,” the chief coach told his counterparts from the clubs.

Coaches of all the clubs except Mohammedan Sporting, United FC and Vasco were present in the meeting.

While Mohun Bagan was represented by Karim Bencharifa, Mridul Banerjee attended the meeting on behalf of East Bengal.

Sources said that in response to Houghton’s call, Karim Bencharifa and Banerjee pointed out they were not in a position to take a decision on this matter.

“First of all, this is a kind of policy decision which has to be okayed by the club management. Moreover, the Calcutta clubs are always under immense pressure to win matches in the local league too,” they said.

Vishwas Gaonkar of Sporting Clube de Goa, and the Mahindra United coach Derrick Pereira also supported the viewpoint and said as employees of the their respective clubs they were expected to deliver the goods in each and every match.

Coaches, including former national coach Sukhwinder Singh of JCT and Dempo’s Armando Colaco, told Houghton that his proposal could only be made effective if the All India Football Federation (AIFF) came out with a regulation.

Houghton also told the coaches that he would like the national team footballers to remain free for a three-month period between June and August.

From the start of his tenure, many of Houghton’s views have met with opposition from the state associations and the clubs.