E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, FEB 05 -

British newspaper The Times in 2009 listed him as one of the top 50 players ever to don the Tottenham Hotspur shirt. Two years later, he joins the list of the three Englishmen—after Joe Kinnear in 1985 and Steven Constaintine in 1999 - to lead the national team of Nepal. Graham Paul Roberts will be coaching the national team in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers to be held in Kathmandu from March 27, barring any alteration in the schedule by organisers All Nepal Football Association.

Though his term with the national team is just for a brief period of two months, Roberts, whose coaching career started with third division Scottish side Clive five years before being appointed the manager of Pakistan for the 2010 Asian Games, believes he can prepare the team well for the competition also featuring North Korea and Sri Lanka. The third team can be either Afghanistan or Bhutan.

After coaching Pakistan for a little less than two months, Roberts is happy to be in Kathmandu, where football, he says, is a passion, unlike Pakistan, where cricket reigns supreme. “I know the people here are passionate about football and I will leave no stone unturned to prepare the squad well for the event,” said Roberts.

Training at a dusty and an uneven pitch at Chhauni Barack is a drastic change for a man who was part of the successful Spurs side of the early 1980s, winning two successive FA Cups and a UEFA Cup in 1984. He scored the winning goal against Anderlecht of Belgium in the European tournament.  But he still looked at ease under difficult circumstances, eager to memorise the names of his new boys, numbering about 60.

Training has been hit by the unavailability of proper pitches.

The ANFA ground at Satodobato is under maintenance, while the national stadium has a busy calendar. To add to their woes, most of the grounds owned by the departmental clubs, including Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force, have been occupied by various internal activities. Nepal Army has been kind to accommodate them at Chhauni and will hopefully arrange them a better place to play.

“I hope we get shifted to a better ground soon but I am not complaining as this is the way things are here and I have to accept it,” he said, getting impetus from team manager Krishna Manandhar, who credited him for his cooperation despite all the odds coming their way.

The first week of training for Roberts passed by getting acquainted with the players. During the second week starting Sunday after downsizing the squad to 30, he hopes to start rigorous physical training, which he regards as the most important factor in a football match.

It is often observed that the Nepali squad on international duties lacks scoring abilities despite enjoying ball possession for long hours. Asked how he could cope with the problem, he said he would first free the players from the mindset that whacking the ball with their whole might not always guarantee success. Cleverness is key to dodging the keeper, he believes. Second, he would spend time on shooting drills.

Moreover, his focus will be on instilling a winning spirit on the players as the game, he believes, is all about scoring goals and that is the foremost thing needed to get the backing of fans. His insistence on motivating the players is from his experience with Pakistani players, who, he says, lacked a winning mentality. He cited the example of a missed penalty against Maldives that could have won them the match. “From the moment he [the shooter] walked in to do the honours, I knew he would miss the shot because of his approach. He never looked like scoring,” said the Englishman Coordination is the another thing the Englishman is eager to introduce for he has observed that the players in his squad are better individually but lack team play. “I have to teach them that a dozen individuals do not win a match but when they combine together winning is not a problem. Small teams stun big teams in football.”

Having been pitted against North Korea, a growing powerhouse in Asian football, the situation may remind Roberts of his days at Clyde when they defeated Scottish giants Celtic in the Scottish Cup, giving their supporters the time of their life.

Hopefully, the Englishman can deliver a similar result to Nepali football supporters, who have waited too long for the country to do well in the event, failing to go through the group stages in two previous attempts.

Posted on: 2011-02-05 08:47

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