India's football coach Constantine rues lack of football culture in India

NATIONAL COACH STEPHAN CONSTANTINE feels that most of the Indian footballers do not have strong command on the basics of the game primarily due to a lack of football culture in the country.

Englishman Constantine, who took over as India coach early this year in his second stint, said not focussing on grassroot development over the years has led to the players learning the basics only late in their career.

"Ten years down the line after I left the India coach''s job in 2005, I can see the country has moved ahead in some areas. But at the same time, in some other areas, there has been little improvement," Constantine, who also served as India coach between 2002 and 2005, said at a media interaction during a reception hosted for him by British High Commission here last night.