Asian Cup 2019: 5 things Former India Coach Stephen Constantine could have done better

#4 Constantine - Treating the media like the enemy

Constantine always avoided going into the details

The Fourth Estate is there to criticise, correct and suggest the workings of any system. However, when Constantine was quizzed, usually in press conferences, about his selection criteria, tactics and asked to explain certain things about the Indian football, the response usually reeked of arrogance.

If the selections were brought up, Constantine would claim to talk about only the players that are in the squad. If asked about the progress of a player who fell out of the contention for the national team, Constantine would again remind the journalists that he looks for consistency in the player's club performance and cite that as a reason to ignore players like Romeo Fernandes, Rino Anto or Eugeneson Lyngdoh.

That criteria, however, doesn't apply to certain others that we've pointed out already.

When it comes to his tactics, Constantine has always rejected asking his players to punt long-balls to their strikers. He also suggests that the team always goes for the win. The display on the field says otherwise.

Talking about his achievements and 'historic' performances is a favourite pass-time of Constantine during India's press conferences. He would push in this agenda in the middle of a serious question about his faltering relationship with certain senior players or while talking about how India need to play more friendlies.

Sure, Constantine has delivered results but the expectations were set too low.

And that brings us to the next problem on India's friendly schedule.