Bob Houghton and Bhaichung Bhutia

New Delhi: Bhaichung Bhutia and Bob Houghton were the most sought after people in Delhi on Wednesday — the Indian captain was mobbed by the media, while Houghton was flooded with requests for interviews.

Congratulatory messages on the Nehru Cup win poured in, and Bhaichung was kept awake till 1.30 in the morning. Houghton, however, drove straight to the hotel.

On Thursday, Bhaichung went back to Calcutta and Houghton flew off to South Africa for a well-deserved holiday. In between, the captain and coach took time out to speak to The Telegraph on the win and future plans.

Q How did you stage this coup?

Bhaichung: The credit for this win goes mainly to our coach Bob Houghton. I wish I’d had a coach like him when I was younger. He has worked really hard. He’s opened up a whole new dimension on off-the-ball movement. He’s taught us the finer points of attack through the wings. He never talks too much or holds frequent meetings. At the same time, he asks us to play our natural attacking game. He is simply a master strategist.

Houghton: There was no coup involved. It was only a small step forward at the international level. We just planned it. We played three matches in Dubai, three at the Asian Games and then four in Portugal. Of these 10 matches, we lost only one — against mighty Iran at the Asian Games. It gave us much needed confidence. It was reflected in the Nehru Cup. The credit goes to the boys. After all, they won the Cup, not me. They have been rewarded for their hard work.

How do you rate this victory in your long career?

Bhaichung: This win is certainly one of the best moments in my life. Winning the LG Cup in Vietnam in 2002 was also one of the high points of my career. But I would attach more importance to this since it came at home.

Houghton: In my career? (long pause). I have had a long career as a coach. There were so many ups and downs. I have won many matches and lost many. This victory is of course significant. People didn’t have much confidence in the team. I restored it.

How do you plan to maintain this?

Bhaichung: We should play more international matches as we have over the last few months. We won’t be able to keep up the momentum if we once again get busy with domestic football. It won’t take us anywhere.

Houghton: It’s a pity that we might not get to play too many international matches in the next few months. The World Cup qualifying fixtures made by the AFC are simply poor. In December, we were set to play in the SAFF Cup. We were looking forward to it. Now if it is postponed, we will miss a good chance to play a few matches.

Who would you say was the find of the tournament?

Bhaichung: Quite a few. There are several players who would represent the country for the next seven to 10 years. Subrata Paul, Steven Dias, Gourmangi Singh, N.P. Pradeep, Sunil Chhetri — all are capable of taking up the challenge.

Houghton: Players like Subrata or Gourmangi proved their mettle. Subrata is extremely courageous. I was very impressed by his performance in the pre-Olympics and matches in Portugal. Gourmangi was a victim of club football.

Till last season, India were struggling to score goals. What’s the secret behind the change?

Bhaichung: There was nothing like that. The more we played together, the more we learnt how to rattle the opposition. We had some great strikers before. I think we haven’t got a replacement for (I.M.) Vijayan yet. But our new strikers like Sunil (Chhetri), Abhishek (Yadav) or Tariq (Ahmed) have come up very well. We were constantly attacking. That also fetched us goals.

Houghton: As I said many times before, scoring goals is also a habit like winning a match. When a team doesn’t score, players sometimes stop taking shots at the goal. That’s lack of confidence. Once you start scoring, you will find your midfielders also taking shots at the rival goal and scoring. You can see it has happened with Ajayan and Pradeep.

What are our chances in the World Cup qualifiers?

Bhaichung: It’s not easy to predict... All I can say we are ready for Lebanon and looking to go further. Our team is young, talented and it has started believing in itself.

Houghton: I am confident my boys will win. In a recent tournament back in West Asia, Syria defeated Lebanon. They play football almost in a similar style. Here, we played Syria twice. We lost the first match, but won the final.

Would you like to make some changes in the team?

Bhaichung: All my teammates are near and dear to me. With the kind of performance we gave in the Nehru Cup, I am sure they will all be retained.

Houghton: Not many. Perhaps JCT goalkeeper Karanjit Singh and defender Anwar could be asked to join the camp. I am waiting for the Professional League to start to get a look at a few new players.

Was lack of opposition one of the main reasons for our win?

Bhaichung: That’s the wrong way to look at things. When did we last win four matches in 10 days? When did we last register back to back victories against good teams like Kyrgyzstan or Syria? Why undermine the achievement? Wasn’t Syria a good team?

Houghton: When the tournament started, the media called every match a crucial tie. When we won, they said the opposition was poor. I don’t understand their logic.

It’s back to club football after two months. What do you feel about that?

Bhaichung: Playing for clubs is part of a footballer’s career. We are no different. Only thing, we shouldn’t get into a groove and give too much importance to domestic football. That won’t take us anywhere.

Houghton: Let the boys now play the Federation Cup. I only hope no one gets injured. The players should play club football. But top footballers should only play Federation Cup and the National League. They should not play in the local leagues.

It’s off to Dubai on September 25 for a training-cum-exposure trip. How do you think that will that help?

Bhaichung: It will help immensely. It helped before the Asian Games, too. We went to Portugal before the Nehru Cup. You could see what a difference it made.

Houghton: It is a system practised all over the world. From Dubai, we will leave for Lebanon to play the World Cup qualifier on October 8. By that time, Mahindra United players, who till then will be busy playing AFC Cup matches, will join the squad. It is going to be a tough campaign.