Kolkata: Football has a good chance of flourishing in India, feels Englishman Bob Houghton, the new chief National coach. In his first interaction with the media ahead of India's preparations for the AFC Asian Cup 2007 Group A qualifier match against Saudi Arabia, Houghton said on Sunday that contrary to its image as a cricketing nation to the outside world, "I feel India is essentially a footballing country."

"The country is getting economically stronger and there is enough sponsorship football can look forward to," he said. "The road to development is long but we can really make it to the World Cup, if not in 2010, maybe in the following edition," he added.

On evaluation of the side: Houghton said the next one year was crucial for him to judge the merit of the squad. The seniors will be evaluated in the four Asian Cup qualifiers, while the next age-group players (under-23) will be judged in the Doha Asian Games.

"The top nations of the continent will be playing in the Asiad and that will test us," he said. Then there are the Olympic qualifiers in 2007, where the current under-20 group will be tried out. "By the end of these three tournaments I will be able to look at a proper squad,'' he said.

The coach said the qualification to 2010 World Cup at South Africa is an ambitious project and it needs rapid improvement to attain it, as only two and a half years time was be available to reach that. The qualification stage will be completed by 2009, hence it would be "more realistic" to look beyond that period.

On the current crop of players: Analysing the current crop of players based on their technique, tactics, fitness and psychology, Houghton reiterated the words of pervious coaches and said there was no dearth of talent. "The skill-level of our players is definitely high and I feel India should be ranked much higher than the 26th position it has in the continent," he said.

The areas that need to be addressed are tactics, power (a part of fitness) and psychology, which is more about confidence and the will to win. He said tactical development is an ongoing process and it will mature over time. On the other hand, Indians have requisite level of endurance, but fall behind on the power front. Houghton said that he would like to have the clubs follow up the strength programme once the players return from the camp. The coach also ruled out the need of a psychologist to assist the team. "I don't want anybody to get between me and the team. It is the coach's job in a team game and I can handle it," he said.

On qualifiers against Saudi Arabia: The chief coach preferred to put the Asia Cup qualifiers against Saudia Arabia, scheduled to be played here on August 16, as a part of development process. "Saudis are one of the most powerfully built teams in the continent. My job is to prepare for a win and make my players believe they can do it. We have changed the way we used to play and you will see a different approach," he said.

On Bhutia's comeback chances: Houghton said he would welcome former captain Baichung Bhutia back into the squad, but said he had not spoken to him after the trip to Vancouver last month. "If you ask me whether we want him in the team, I would say, absolutely," the coach said.

On players of Indian origin: Houghton, who previously coached China for a World Cup berth, said he would like to have in his squad two or three foreign players of Indian origin, currently playing in Europe. "If we have two or three such players, then we can speed up the development process," he said. The players are being identified and approached through different sources. The coach named Michael Chopra, who has signed for Cardiff City, as the most impressive of the lot. He also mentioned about Harpal Singhand Prince Rajcomar

Bhutia selected

Bhutia became the 35th member of the probables selected for the senior National camp for the Asian Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia.

The player had a discussion with Houghton on Sunday and was asked to join the training from Monday, informed the team manager Pradip Chowdhury. Earlier the player had sought leave from the National side that toured Vancouver last month saying that he wanted rest. The AIFF did not name him the probables list and left his inclusion in the squad to the discretion of the new coach.

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