India head coach Stephen Constantine says door is open for players who play his brand of football

New Delhi: “Play the brand of football I want you to play and the door is open for you,” is the mantra of Indian football team’s head coach Stephen Constantine while keeping a hawk eye on the talent pool. [caption id=“attachment_3481189” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Stephen Constantine. Image courtesy: AIFF media[/caption] “When I see any player and from all levels, I just try to find out whether he can play the brand of football which I want him to play. If you can, the door stays open for you,” Constantine told aiff.com. Ahead of tri-nation football series, Constantine said that focus will be on youth policy. “As long as I will be the coach, I will always try and develop youth players and give them opportunities. The lifespan of any team is around four to six years. When you are in the fourth year, you need to keep searching again – you need to look for change. So why not do it all the time,” said Constantine, who has selected as many as 10 U-23 players in the squad for the tournament. Asked about the composition, the coach said it’s a blend of youth and experience. “Of course, you need the experience and need to learn from the senior players but that can sometimes lead us to a bit of stagnation. It’s extremely important for senior players to need to work hard to keep their positions as much it is important for the kids to learn to take their positions. “At the moment, I feel we have the right balance as even the young players have some 8-9 matches under their belt and you cannot call them inexperienced anymore,” Constantine added.