Indian football team coach Stephen Constantine and captain Sandesh Jhingan during a press conference in Mumbai. (Source: PTI)
India football coach Stephen Constantine is highly impressed with newly-appointed captain Sandesh Jhingan and feels he has what it takes to excel in the bigger league. Ahead of the tri-nation tournament fixture against St Kitts and Nevis, Constantine was full of praise for Jhingan.
“The captain has to reflect the character of the team. He has to set the tone of the team. Sandesh is a fighter like me who loves to lead the side from the front,” Constantine said. Jhingan had made his first India outing against Nepal, which was also Constantine’s first match as coach in his second term.
“Sandesh, to me, is a player who should be playing in a bigger league,” Constantine said.
India beat Mauritius 2-1 in Jhingan’s first match in charge but the skipper didn’t have much to say after the win. “Playing for your country is itself a great honour and here I am, leading my country,” he stated.
He has played a key role in the back-four with Anas Etathodika, Pritam Kotal, Narayan Das and Gurpreet Sandhu (in goal) and helped India create a new record of winning nine international matches on the trot. This also includes the unofficial fixture against Bhutan.
Very impressed with his new captain, Constantine said Jhingan could be identified as a leader after Sunil Chhetri calls it a day.
“In coming days, at least we can identify Sandesh as a leader once Sunil (Chhetri) hangs his boots,” Constantine said.
Chhetri to join camp
Chhetri, Gurpreet and Udanta Singh will be joining the national camp after Bengaluru FC’s AFC Cup stint. India have won both their matches in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers and will now take on Macau, in Macau, on September 5.
