Rennedy Singh

Calcutta: Players who are fit to play for the national team under Bob Hoghton are not fitting into East Bengal coach Phillippe de Ridder’s scheme of things.

In a surprising move, De Ridder decided to leave behind the trio of Rennedy Singh, Jibon Singh and Govin Singh when he announced the squad for the Federation Cup, Saturday.

The Belgian coach, however, decided to include Bhaichung Bhutia, Syed Rahim Nabi, Mehrajuddin Wadoo and Nirmal Chetri who were also in the national camp.

Speaking about his decision, De Ridder said: “It’s not that they are unfit… But they are not fitting into my plans at the moment. They all are good players and there’s nothing to be disheartened. They will have their opportunities in the future as there’s a lot of football left in the season.”

He added: “The squad that I have selected consists of players who are mentally, physically and tactically the best.”

Asked why he thought someone like Jibon, who has represented the national team in the recently-concluded SAFF Cup in Dhaka, De Ridder said: “That’s true… But maybe they haven’t been able to perform at their best at the East Bengal practice and that is why I didn’t think that they could be included in the squad at the moment.”

Speaking on the inclusion of Bhaichung, he said: “One just can’t ignore the class of a player like Bhiachung … He is always an asset to the team and gives us an added advantage.”

He admitted that in order to do well in the Federation Cup his team will have to work hard. “It’s a tough competition and to do well we need to work hard. Every team wants to be a champion but we have to put in that extra effort to achieve our goal,” De Ridder said.

Meanwhile, East Bengal won a practice match against Calcutta Customs 2-0 on Saturday. Sanju Pradhan and Yusif Yakubu were on the target.

The squad

Abhra Mondal, Priyant Kumar Singh, Syed Rahim Nabi. Nirmal Chetri, Uga Okpara, Soumik Dey, Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Sanju Pradhan, Alvito D’Cunha, Mehtab Hussain, B Beikhokhei, Bhaichung Bhutia, Yusif Yakubu, Saheb Ali Gharami, Mohammed Mumtaz, Subhas Singh, Saikat Saha Roy, Budhiram Tudu, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Verona.