Former Hyderabad FC coach Phil Brown feels longer domestic season is the way to go for Indian football

There is a lot happening in Indian football and former Premier League manager Phil Brown has taken notice and shared his opinion about the changes that are taking place especially with a longer season in place and with the Blue Tigers qualifying for the Asian Cup next year. The former Hyderabad FC head coach shared how the increase in number of matches will help the youngsters gain more experience and will only benefit in their growth and development.

“For me, as far as coaches in India are concerned, it is manna from heaven. It is a fantastic move forward for Indian football. As a foreign coach coming to India, all we want to do is train with the players. We call it contact time. The more contact time you have with the players, the better chance the player has of improving. It is the most important part in my opinion for the improvement of individuals,”Brown explained.

He also adds how the coaches get more time with the players to know them and understand how they react as professionals. It will surely give the coaches the psychological edge for the tacticians.

The domestic season is all set to start with the Durand Cup in August. While the Indian Super League and I-League will be starting from October with the season ending with the Super Cup in May 2023 extending the season to nine months.

Brown feels that the increased number of matches will open up the position for the youngsters who will look to break open the door for the national team. “The first XI of the national team takes care of itself but the next XI or the one after that, you are talking about U23, U21 players in the national team. Through this calendar, these younger players now have a pathway to the national team. Ishan Pandita scored for the national team,” Brown added.

The former Hyderabad FC manager highlighted how a longer season will give players chances and all they need is a good run of games. “Some players who will not feature at the start of the season will get their chance in the middle and suddenly you get a run of 3-4 games. That exposure for players, for me, is moving Indian football in the right direction where it should be going,” the 63-year-old pointed out.

Also there are rumours of ISL becoming a weekend centric league and Brown supports it as he feels that this allows the players to get adequate amount of rest and also allows the fans to come to the stadium on weekends. “Playing weekend to weekend gives players adequate rest, coaches the time to prepare better on the training fields and with the fans coming in, it provides for a better quality of product, which will then open the turnstiles,” he concluded.