Everybody will have to fight for his place: Stimac

New Delhi, May 24 

Newly-appointed Indian football team coach Igor Stimac today said all payers, including the talismanic Sunil Chhetri, were equal and would have to fight for their place. Stimac, who was part of Croatia’s squad that finished third in the 1998 World Cup in France, is conducting a training camp for the national team probables in preparation for the King’s Cup in Thailand.

“We speak everyday. I speak with all our players everyday. That’s my approach. I need to do that. I need to get information from them,” Stimac said in his first press conference.

“Of course, Sunil (Chhetri) is very valuable to our team. He is a role model to these young players who are knocking on the door. He is so experienced, has played so many games, and has scored so many goals. But he also needs to fight for a place in the team. We all start from zero. You don’t get anything for the past. You get paid for today’s job.”

With less than two weeks to go for his first assignment with the Indian team, the 51-year-old said that he was concerned about the defence and the lack of options, particularly at centre-back. “Over the next few months, my job will be to find more competitors for the centre-back position,” Stimac said.

The 37-man preliminary squad will be pruned to 23 by the time the team leaves for Thailand on June 1.

When asked about the research he had done on India before accepting the job, Stimac said: “I watched almost every ISL game.” — PTI