The achievement seems to bode well for India's aim of qualifying for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup tournament, but not so much for Constantine
Stephan Constantine is a tough coach to satisfy, even when his team has achieved a historic feat of eight successive victories in official international games.
With their 2-1 win over Mauritius in the Tri-Nation Football series opener at the Mumbai Football Arena here on Saturday, the Indian football team bettered its record of seven international victories on the trot from 1962 to 1964.
The achievement seems to bode well for India's aim of qualifying for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup tournament, but not so much for Constantine.
"It (winning eight matches in a row) will mean nothing unless we qualify for the AFC Asian Cup. That's where my goal lies and it will be so. I'm not a person who goes by history,'' Constantine said on Saturday night.
"Be it 9, 10, 11, it matters little for me unless we achieve our target. Obviously, it's important to win matches to continue the momentum. But, our main aim is to get into the right shape before taking on Macau (in Asian Cup Qualifiers in September) and it's still the same,'' he added.
The Blue Tigers have won all their official international games since the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Playoff Round 1 game against Laos in 2016.
Asked about edging past Mauritius despite being dominated by the visitors for a major part of the first half, Constantine said: "I have seen Mauritius, I knew they were going to play like this and they perhaps could have played a little bit better.
"We didn't do what we normally do, gave them too much respect. We conceded the goal which they deserved, we were fortunate to get the equaliser, we made a few changes in the second half and we dominated it," he added.
Robin Singh ended his goal drought by scoring an equaliser, and Constantine was all praise for the senior pro.
"I don't care whether he scores or not, I care that he does the work. Robin is not going to score 15-20 goals in a season, that's not his style of play but he beats the crap out of defenders.
"He is a punishing player and the wear and tear he leaves on a player for 90 minutes or even 45 minutes results in other players scoring. So, it's not always about Robin scoring but I'm pleased with the way he took his goal," he added.
The Englishman was also impressed with Balwant Singh's all-important winner.
"Balwant was superb. He absolutely ran himself to the ground and I'm really happy that he got his first international goal," Constantine said.
The Indian team was led by Sandesh Jhingan in the absence of Sunil Chhetri and the former did more than a decent job of marshalling his troops.
"I think a captain must reflect the character and the determination of the coach," Constantine said. "Sandesh is a fighter just like me; he leads by example. I think when Sunil is ready to pack it in, we have at least one more person that could be the captain. For me, Sandesh could and should be playing in a bigger league."
DID YOU KNOW?
Indian football team has won all its official international games since the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Playoff Round 1 game against Laos in 2016
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