Stephen
and the Media
Soccernet.com
Friday,
June 1, 2001
Constantine
hopes for Wigan chance
Joe Royle is facing opposition for the vacant job at Wigan from the former coach
of Nepal.
Stephen Constantine is
not a name that will ring too many bells with
British football fans, but he is desperate, and
more than qualified, to step into a manager's
job with an English league club.
The Londoner has applied
for the vacant post at the JJB Stadium, following
Steve Bruce's decision to join Crystal Palace.
He has also applied for
the manager's job at Torquay, Barnet and non-league
Stalybridge Celtic and is waiting to hear back
from them.
But Constantine has already
received 'more than a few' rejections, and has
been frustrated by what he sees as a bias against
coaches who have not played the game professionally.
Constantine said: 'As far
as qualifications and experience are concerned
I feel I should be on the shortlist of any club.
'Wigan have stated that
after eight years and eight managers, it is time
to go for somebody who wants to coach and manage
and is not going to be there for five minutes,
and doesn't have to be a big name.
'I can't understand the
big name mentality in England because it is not
the big name that is going to play! The myth
of big name players making good managers is old
hat.
'If Wigan are set on not
going for the big name and keeping stability
at the club, then I should have a chance.'
Constantine is champing
at the bit for the opportunity to prove his worth,
and highlights managers such as Gerard Houllier
and Arsene Wenger who have become top managers
without playing at the highest level.
He said: 'If you haven't
played in England it's like you don't know what
you are talking about. Craig Brown never played,
Arsene Wenger never played, and neither did Gerard
Houllier.
'There's quite a lot of
boys that didn't play top international football
who are doing a fantastic job. But, if you go
the other way players who have won everything
(as players), like Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce
and John Barnes, look at the state they've left
their clubs in!
'I'm not saying that qualifications
are enough on their own, but neither is just
having played the game.'
The 38-year-old's credentials
are certainly impressive.
He won the silver medal
with Nepal in the South Asian Games, when his
side weren't even expected to qualify from their
group. He was also awarded the equivalent to
the OBE by the King of Nepal.
In charge of all levels
of Nepalese football, he collected a group of
50 youngsters playing barefoot in local shanty
towns, and molded them into a national under-16
side who qualified for the Asian finals.
Constantine, who currently
lives in Brighton, has an admirable array of
coaching qualifications, including a Uefa A-license
and English Advanced License.
He was recently invited
to be a member of the Fifa instructors' panel
- the only Englishman to have been so. But as
Constantine admits 'it's not cutting a lot of
ice at the moment.'
That hasn't dampened his
determination to succeed, and if Wigan give him
the chance, he has promised not to let them down.
He said: 'I've got the
bit between my teeth, and I'm going to do it
because they've said I can't do it.
'I've been offered the
national job in Jordan, and a few things in Cyprus
and Greece. But I've turned them down because
I want to do it here. And I'm going to do it
here no matter what they say.'
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