Sunil Chhetri says he doesn’t want to be pictured with the runners-up trophy

New Delhi: Twenty four hours after dramatically pulling the rug from under the feet of Kyrgyzstan, Indian footballers have decided to treat their extraordinary win as history.

“No doubt it was a momentous triumph for us, but this is not the end of the campaign,” said a confident captain Bhaichung Bhutia, who led from the front on Sunday.

“There is no room for celebrations at the moment. The champagne bottle would only be opened after we win the Nehru Cup,” said Bhaichung. “Given our current form, we are quite capable of it.”

Never before Indian footballers have looked so confident as they were on Monday, two days before the final. Syria are the best team in the meet and have already a victory against India under the belt.

Bhaichung is unperturbed. “Syrians could be physically fitter and more skilful, but that won’t be a problem. If we can play with the same kind of discipline as we did against Kyrgyzstan, we can topple them in the final.”

If the number of autograph seekers in the hotel lobby is any criteria, then Indian footballers certainly have grown into big stars in the last one week. While Bhaichung still remains the chief attraction, local boy Sunil Chhetri is fast closing in on him in terms of popularity.

The Delhi boy has scored four goals in the tournament so far, but is not satisfied. “Scoring a goal in the final and winning the trophy is the ultimate aim. I don’t want to be photographed with the runners-up trophy.”

Footballers are only echoing the sentiments of coach Bob Houghton. On Sunday, immediately after the Kyrgyzstan match, the British coach told the players to concentrate on the final.

“We shouldn’t stick to limited ambitions. Let us get going as far as possible,” he told the boys.

Houghton is almost a demi-god to the players. In 1997, India reached the semi-finals of the Nehru Cup in Kochi. “I was much younger then.

“We had some classic players in the team such as (IM) Vijayan, Carlton (Chapman) and Bruno (Coutinho). I wish we had a coach like Houghton then,” rued Bhaichung.

On Monday, the coach allowed the boys a day off. The players are relishing the fact that India’s Fifa rankings have jumped by 11 positions in a span of one week.

“The coach told us about this,” said reserve goalkeeper Sandeep Nandy.

“It is also heartening to note that the federation is giving us cash awards after every much. The atmosphere is truly conducive for giving off our best.” On Sunday, AIFF gave Rs 7.5 lakh to the footballers.

The quote of the day came from defender Surkumar Singh, known for his grit and determination. “We are not sparing a thought about Syria at the moment. Given our current performance, they should think about us.”