9 wins mean nothing, says Constantine

Mumbai, August 20 

The Indian men’s football team’s head coach, Stephen Constantine, doesn’t want to dwell on the past and believes that 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 beat Mauritius 2-1 in the tri-nation series opener, courtesy strikes by forwards Robin Singh and Balwant Singh.

“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,” Constantine said.

“Records are there and they are nice... but our focus is 100 percent on Macau,” he said about the Asian Cup qualifying game on September 5.

Constantine said his team was more dominant in the second half after conceding the first goal in the 15th minute against Mauritius.

“I did not like the way we played the first half. I don’t like when we give other team the head start. In the break, I told the boys to buck up in a polite way and they did,” he said. — PTI