Thiruvananthapuram: Any slip-up in Thursday's semi-finals against Maldives could be a disaster for hosts India but head coach Stephen Constantine on Wednesday backed his players to come out triumphant in the potentially high-voltage clash in the South Asian Football Federation Cup here.
Stephen Constantine's India went into the tournament after suffering five straight losses and one win in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and they would be under pressure to make amends in the SAFF Cup which they have dominated for long with six titles to their kitty.
India have featured in all but one summit clash of the earlier 10 editions of the SAFF Cup and anything less than a final appearance in this tournament, which is also being held at home, will be considered a disaster.
Maldives are the second most successful side in SAFF Cup history and they are currently above India in FIFA rankings at 160th (against India's 166th), and Constantine was understandably cautious in his remarks at the match-eve press conference.
"We are looking forward to a difficult game against Maldives as they are a good side. Not only are Maldives highly organised, they are good in the attacking department too. It will be tricky," he said.
Talking about his squad, Constantine said, "The 19 players we have now have all performed brilliantly. Although our preparations were hampered by Robin Singh's injury, which is a big blow for us, life goes on. But it also gives the opportunity to other players to fill into his shoes."
The Briton said that the SAFF Cup gave the opportunity to play youngsters opponents of similar levels, allowing them to evolve in a competitive environment.
Constantine has given debuts to teenager Chhangte Lallianzuala, who scored a double against Nepal, and 22-year-old defender Koushik Sarkar, in the SAFF Cup Championship thus far. In his 11 matches so far at the helm, he has fielded 22 debutants, at an average of two per match.
"It is always great to see a young player make his debut -- be it for club or his country. But the question is how do we look after the player off the pitch?" he asked.
"If we want them to be the Star that they are capable of, we need to give them time and space. We need to look after them, nurture them, and not exploit them," he said.
In the last edition in Kathmandu, India had beaten Maldives 1-0 in the same stage of the tournament, courtesy an Arnab Mondal volley.
"In today's football every match is difficult. The teams study each other so much. So you ought to do the extra bit to topple the rivals. That pertains to all levels of football.
Even Maldives will aim at that; and we will aim at that too," Mondal said.
Asked if he remembers that match-winning strike in Kathmandu two years back, the central defender said, "That was some two years back. Tomorrow is a new day. I don't think the strike is any more significant."
Pritam Kotal, nicknamed 'PK' by his teammates, agreed with Mondal.
"You have to work hard and play like as if it's your last match. This is the ideology of the coach and we have played every match based on this ideology," he said.
"Although Maldives will be a tricky fixture, we will try to play our game. We need to follow the coach's plan. They are a good attacking side and we need to maintain our shape. We will give our cent percent on the pitch," said the defender.
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