Calcutta: When the entire football fraternity of the country is busy watching the business end of the under-17 World Cup, serious trouble is brewing in the Indian senior team, coached by Stephen Constantine.

According to reliable sources in the All India Football Federation (AIFF), after qualifying for the 2019 Asian Cup final rounds, some senior footballers have orchestrated a move to remove the coach, alleging he's technically not good enough to lead the side.

Five top players of Constantine's starting XI recently met the federation general secretary Kushal Das during the national camp in Mumbai, and said a technical assessment of the coach should be done with immediate effect.

Interestingly, under the British coach, India have gained the Asian Cup qualification for the first time since Doha, 2011.

Das said he had met the players but refused to divulge any details. "I do meet players, coaches and officials regularly on various issues. I am in no position to discuss such things," he said.

Players, it is believed, may even meet the AIFF president Praful Patel and complain against the coach.

But then, during the technical committee meeting of the AIFF in Delhi earlier this month, Das had clearly informed the members that players were not happy with Constantine's coaching.

"When a member asked whether the coach's contract would be renewed beyond 2018 March, the general secretary stated the players expressed some dissatisfaction about Mr Constantine," a member present at the meeting said.

However, despite pressure from the players, which include some of the biggest names of Indian football, the federation could find it difficult to make any move against the coach.

Having joined the team in February 2016, when Indian football was at a dismal 173 in the Fifa rankings, Constantine had taken the team into the top 100, for the first time in more than 20 years.

Under him, Sunil Chetri and Co. have performed exceptionally and remained unbeaten in 11 matches on the trot.

Sources said the main grudge of the footballers is that the coach hardly gives credit to the players after important victories and tend to hog the limelight himself.

They also feel the coach's lack of trust and his highly regimented approach could have a negative effect on senior footballers, whose sense of responsibility towards the team cannot be undermined.

What has further fuelled the problem is Constantine's autobiographical book From Delhi to the Den, which has hit the stands a couple of months ago.

In the 13th chapter of the book, under the heading "Fighting the Superstars", Stephen made a reference about how the lure of big money in the ISL might have affected the performance of certain players in India's match against Guam in the World Cup qualifiers.

As if that was not enough, he had named Chetri and Eugeneson Lyngdoh as the highest paid footballers among the Indians in the ISL. Though he said the duo had always been fantastic for the national team, the comment had not gone down well with the concerned footballers.

The players, sources said, told certain federation officials that Constantine's technical knowledge and ability was limited and he was benefiting mainly from the fitness factors.

Footballers felt that more than the coaching, it was the exceptional good work of some individuals and certain amount of luck that helped India achieve their superb run.