I am happy with the quality of players I have seen, says Igor Stimac

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) are hoping that the recent high-profile appointments of Romania’s Isac Doru (Technical Director) and Croatia’s Igor Stimac (Head Coach) will help in taking the Indian football to new heights in the coming years. Stimac, who has previously coached the Croatian national football team, got the job ahead of former Bengaluru FC coach - Albert Roca.

The former Croatian defender took part in his first practice session with the Indian senior football team earlier this week and gave his views on the same at a recent press conference held by the AIFF. Stimac has revealed that he was pleased with the talent available at his disposal in the national team at the moment.

"I watched almost all the matches of the last season and have followed the Indian Arrows as well. I'm informed about 5-6 young players who were not playing so much previously and I'm here to give them a chance.

"There are many young players knocking on the door of the senior team and I see a great chance to keep improving the team and get results. I am happy with the quality I have seen and together, we can do great things," Stimac said at a press conference, reported Sportstar.

In addition to that, the former Derby County player added that he hopes the senior players in the team like Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu will act as role models for the younger generation in the coming years.

"I expect the other senior players to be role models in the team as well. So far, I'm quite happy with the players and their behaviour, and I'm sure we'll all work well together," Stimac added.