Stephen Constantine has got a super Christmas present from good old Santa Claus. The former India Football coach (from 2002-2005) has won the Les Rosbifs’ ‘Coach of the Year 2011” award for his outstanding spell with Nea Salamis, a Cypriot club.
Les Rosbifs ‘follows the fortunes of English footballers in foreign lands’ and the award winners are selected by a panel featuring former England and FC Twente manager Steve McClaren, AIK defender Kenny Pavey and sports writers working for leading media organizations.
“I am truly honoured to have received this award and it is always nice to be recognised by your peers. I had a lot of help from my staff, and, of course, the players have been brilliant for me,” the coach told www.sportskeeda.com over email.
Constantine took over the club with a shoe-string budget in October 2010 when they were in the relegation zone in the second division and led them to promotion to the premier division, going on a17-game unbeaten run and suffering just one league defeat in 24 matches. This season he has cemented the club’s place in elite company despite limited finances with some superlative performances, including a 1-0 win over APOEL, who this season became the first Cypriot side to reach the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.
Nea Salamis, powered by the likes of new recruit Julian Gray (former Crystal Palace midfielder) are currently sixth in the 14-team first division, albeit way behind leaders APOEL.
The Englishman, who had managed the national sides of Nepal, Malawi and Sudan besides, as well as club sides like Millwall FC, Bournemouth and APEP FC, whom he had also led to promotion to the Cyprus first division earlier, won the award over Neil Emblen (winner of the New Zealand league title again), Tom Curtis (manager of the Antigua and Barbuda national team), Graham Roberts (coach of the Nepalese national team) and David Booth (former Mahindra United and Mumbai FC coach) currently coaching in Pnom Penh.
The 48-year-old Constantine still harbours fond memories of his time with the ‘blue tigers’: “India will always have a special place in my heart I had a lot of very good memories there and you don’t forget those in a hurry. There were some amazing moments for us like the win in the LG Cup, the performances in the Busan Asian Games, the Ian Rush Trophy win, beating Kuwait 3-2 in Kuwait…” he recollected.
Clearly, with all the hype that has been generated as a result, Constantine is now of the radar of clubs in Greece, Cyprus and also England and he could be finally making his way up the managerial ladder.As BBC Sport writer and Les Rosbifs awards judge John Sinnott has said, “It is mystifying why Stephen has not been given the chance to manage in England.”
The coach however is trying his best to keep a level head despite all the speculation floating around. “I have five months remaining on my contract and will see what happens in terms of where I go. The club has asked me to renew but I would like to finish the season and see what offers I have before committing to anything now,” he confessed.
Well, let’s wish him glad tidings for New Year!!!
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