England U-17 football team coach Steve Cooper is happy to get inputs from British coaches working in India including Stephen Constantine and Ashley Westwood, which has helped a lot in their preparation for the Fifa U-17 World Cup, starting October 6.
Cooper has sought advice from the likes India senior team coach Stephen Constantine, Atletico de Kolkata’s Teddy Sheringham and Steve Coppell of ISL teams Jamshedpur FC and Atletico de Kolkata and former Bengaluru FC coach Ashley Westwood.
“We have reached out to some people who have worked in India. The India national team manager, Stephen Constantine, has been a real help and I’ve been fascinated at some of the stories that he has had to tell,” said Cooper.
“Steve Coppell [former Kerala Blasters and current Jamshedpur FC coach] has managed out there and I’ve had a great conversation with him too and we have some other staff members, who have worked out here in terms of sports science.
“Ashley Westwood [former Bengaluru FC] is the technical director at Kolkata, where Teddy Sheringham is the manager, and they’ve all helped to give us a really good insight into what it looks like in India,” said the Young Lions coach.
Cooper is happy with the preparation levels of his squad ever since sealing their World Cup spot by virtue of their performance at the U-17 Euro Finals in May in Croatia where they lost out on the title after a penalty shootout defeat to Spain.
The England squad have been undergoing a pre-tournament training camp in Mumbai for five days and they are heading to Kolkata on Monday ahead of their group matches.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!