#TFGinterview - Thangboi Singto on Lajong's form, domestic calendar, AIFF and North-East Derby

ALL IT TOOK WAS a few injuries, a couple of unlucky decisions and a Shillong Lajong entered a similar that has Mumbai FC bogged down, in a world of worry. 

While it was obvious at the start of the season that the new Lajong team, minus the mighty Cornell Glen, was looking way less intimidating; but no one saw it coming that Shillong Lajong Football Club, a widely respected name in Indian football, would go 2 months without a win, produce only 5 goals in their first 11 matches and sit at the bottom of the league table.

Thangboi Singto, the man in charge at Lajong, was brimming with a new enthusiasm ahead of the crucial encounter with Aizawl FC. While Aizawl FC had caused a major mid-international break defeating league leaders Mohun Bagan, Shillong's sole representatives in the top division were back at the drawing board, plotting a comeback as their injured soldiers recuperated. 

When he sat down with TFG for a free-wheeling interview, talk immediately turned to the significance of the current situation. Shillong Lajong being a pillar of football not only in Meghalaya but the entire North-East India, I asked him what he thought was at stake in this dreadful relegation fight in I-League that involves as many as 5 clubs at this moment. He answered, 

"I think our management deserves the full responsibility for bringing up and nurturing Shillong Lajong they way they have with this philosophy of promoting local youth, it has helped the team to grow in stature both in North-East and the national level. For me as a coach, and my player, 'relegation' is a word that doesn't exist yet... we have a game in hand from most other clubs who are near us in the league table. We're not unduly worried. We believe in our squad, our young players, and they're there for a reason; because they deserve to be there. In these last 5 games it's for us to come back up. I think one or two wins will really change the whole scenario, starting tomorrow. So we're looking at the positive sides."

The talk turned to the strikers' form. Earlier, during the press conference, I asked Singto whether he regretted letting Cornell Glen go, given how his forward line has performed so far. He had replied thus,

"I think the story has ended on that night... Glen has been giving good service to Shillon Lajong. But my concern is with the strikers that are playing tomorrow. We wish Glen the best... but playing Aizawl will be tough, and it's time for Uilliams and Fabio and others to play well and deliver us a good result."

Now, during the interview, he spoke more at length about the persisting problem with his forward line, 

"We had a set few attacking players for the last two seasons. Of course, Cornell Glen, with his calibre, quality and World Cup experience, was a class apart. I think the strikers who have come in after him didn't have the time to gel into the team and they still struggle to get the ball into the net... seeing the I-League structure this season, with less team, more matches, more travels, shorter rest periods; I think the pressure is on the strikers. And if you don't have some early goals in the matches it really gets to you. But we believe our strikers will turn it around, and soon. We're bottom of the table now, but a win in the North-East Derby will take us four places ahead. So, no undue pressure on the strikers but they do have to step up. Because the stats don't lie."

Jahar Das, the Aizawl FC head coach, had struck a note of caution during the presser, talking about how, once a team performs exceptionally in a tough game, their performance level tends to drop in the next game. Speaking about the upcoming match during the interview, Singto jokingly referred to that,

"I would take to heart what Jahar-da said during the press conference... although the pressure is on us, more than Aizawl. But it's good to have pressure because otherwise you don't give your best. The real character of a team shows when they have to perform under pressure. If they do that, I think we're on the right track."

The subject once again turned to how Shillong go about their business as a club. I mentioned how in the 2015 Indian Football Forum, an event organized by SportzPower in Mumbai, the Shillong Lajong CEO had mentioned that loaning out players to other clubs was part of the financial model of the club. I asked Singto how he saw that approach as a person who has to first and foremost produce results on the pitch. He said,

"There are pros and cons to such an approach. I'm hear to do a particular job and for me, I can't complain because whoever goes on out on loan to ISL or another I-League club eventually comes back with useful experience. Football is about youth, hunger, exuberance but when you blend that with experience and ability to take on the pressure, you strike a great balance and we need that. We've been trying to get that balance, and still we haven't quite found the right balance, but we're there... I think tomorrow's match will show us where we stand in terms of that blending."

We went back to a point Singto mentioned earlier; about new players not having enough time to blend in with the squad. I asked if ISL, which takes away some of the club's best players from October to December, was a major disruption in the process of creating a stable squad. In answer, the Lajong coach highlighted the impact India's domestic calendar - unstable thanks to ISL - has on players' fitness,

"I wish there was more of a rest period for players who go to play in ISL. Because without that the chances of injury gets much higher. When the players come back from ISL they're often not in their best shape and need to recover. We can't just pull them onto the ground and expect us to give their 100% until they've recovered. And if they recover well they play much better. I think the calendar in Indian football needs to get to a state where it gives due importance to players as well, not just franchises and team owners. Otherwise, we have situations like our country's best player Sunil Chhetri playing incessantly in national team, ISL, I-League and AFC Cup and it eventually takes a toll on his body. Everybody needs a good recovery period; if we can maintain that we should be okay."

Coming back to the current campaign, I asked Singto what he would do differently in the rest of the matches, given the shortcomings we have seen from Lajong so far this season. He said,

"It's simple. We need to score goals, consolidate our defence and win matches. Like you said, we haven't won a game since January. We've worked hard during the international break, which is good. The boys have recovered. The injured players have come back. All four foreigners are fit right now. So it's for everybody to step up and show that they are in the club for a reason. Given how tight the title and relegation race is this season like the last, for us, the main concern is, we can't lose. We have to win."

When I mentioned to him that Sanjoy Sen's suspension had been cut short, Singto seemed happy that the Mohun Bagan coach would be able to return to the touchline sooner than anticipated,

"Thank you for the news, I wasn't aware... great! I think football is such a passionate game, sometimes coaches, players and fans get carried away. But I know Sanjoy Sen personally because I've had a chance to interact with him; he's a senior colleague. I'm happy for him. I think that's a good stand by the authorities, because a team always needs a coach, a mentor to guide them through the matches. But for the other teams, this will be a worry of course. Bagan will come back much stronger."

Finally, I asked him about the impending merger of ISL and I-League; and the rumours that only some of the richest clubs from I-League will be taken into the ISL as it became the new top division league of India, while others would be sent down to a new second division league. Singto provided a thought-provoking response that took into account the larger landscape in Indian football, and whether or not we were heading in the right direction as a footballing nation,

"In a family, it's the mother and father who make all the decisions for you. In football, the mother and father is our Federation. So as a parent body you have to look out for all your sons and daughters. You can't play favourites, because you're there for all of them. I believe the national parent body needs to really sit down and decide for the greater interest of football. Because, if not, you have cases like Kochi where you had the highest crowds in ISL - 45 to 50 thousand per match - but when the national team plays it's not even 3,500. So, the reality is, whether we are on the right track... of course, when it comes to developing Indian football, it's not easy for them also. It's easy to say this should be done, that should be done. But a lot of things have to go into that. So all the big honchos should sit down and decide on how to develop Indian football from the roots up. I think we're already seeing many positives that we should build on. And of course you need corporates to come and help you too. So you need to find a proper balance, much like what we're trying to do here at Lajong. So the onus is on the parent body on where they take Indian football. Hopefully, it'll be a positve direction. I believe whatever happens, happens for the good of Indian football."

I thanked the Lajong coach for speaking to me and wished him luck against Aizawl. He laughed and replied,

"Thanks. We need that... we need that."

The very next day, Shillong Lajong went on to beat Aizawl FC by a 3-1 margin, ending a long-standing goal drought for good. A week later they even held Mohun Bagan to a draw, making a sizable dent in the defending champions' title dream.