Tri-Nation series: Stephen Constantine feels winning run won't matter if India fails to make it to Asian Cup

Mumbai: Chief football coach Stephen Constantine doesn’t want to dwell on the past and said India’s nine-match winning streak will count for nothing if they fail to qualify for the Asian Cup. India registered their ninth win on the trot when they trounced Mauritius in the tri-nation series opener 2-1, courtesy strikes by forwards Robin Singh and Balwant Singh on either side of the break. “It (nine wins on the trot) makes nothing if we don’t qualify for the Asian Cup, that’s what it means. I am proud to have made this little bit of history but if I don’t qualify for the Asian Cup, what’s the use of nine wins in a row, or 10 or 11 or 12,” he told reporters on Saturday. [caption id=“attachment_3951417” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The victorious Indian football team Twitter @IndianFootball[/caption] “Records are there and they are nice. It is important to win, we want to continue to win, but our focus is 1000 percent on Macau. We need to get something in that game (against Macau), bring home and finish it (qualify),” he quipped ahead of the game on 5 September. Constantine said his team was more dominant in the second half after conceding the first goal in the 15th minute. “Ok, not happy, happy but, I am okay. I have seen Mauritius, I knew they were going to play like this and they perhaps could have played a little bit better. “We didn’t do what we normally do, gave them too much respect. We conceded the goal which they deserved, we were fortunate to get the equaliser, we made few changes in the second half and we dominated it,” he added. The Englishman also expressed his displeasure with the way the team played during the first half. “I did not like the way we played the first half, I don’t like when we give the other team a head-start. We are not the kind of team to give the other team a one goal lead. On some other day, we can get punished. In the break, I told the boys in a polite way to buck up and they did,” he said. He further praised skipper and central midfielder Sandesh Jhinghan saying he is a player “who should be playing in bigger league”. “The captain has to reflect the character of the coach, Sandesh is a fighter just like me. He leads by example and I think when Sunil (Chettri) is ready to pack in, we have one more person who can be captain,” he added. The coach also heaped praise on Robin Singh, Balwant, who got his first international goal, and debutant Manvir Singh. Constantine hinted that he could make changes for the game against St Kitts and Nevis, scheduled on 24 August. Mauritian skipper Kevin Bru said they tried to push India but they defended well. “Well done India, I am happy with my teammates as we played good football,” he added.