‘Work hard’ – Head coach Venkatesh’s advice to players leaving Arrows for ISL and I-League clubs

Players from the Indian Arrows, a project revived by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in 2017 to nurture the best young talents in the country, are in demand across I-League and Indian Super League (ISL) clubs right now.

In search for the promising prospects in the country, I-League and ISL clubs have a lookout for those who perform well with the Arrows. Many a player has moved from the Arrows and are currently playing for teams in the top two tiers in Indian football.

Jeakson Singh (Kerala Blasters), Nongdamba Naorem (on loan at Mohun Bagan from Kerala Blasters), Amarjit Singh (Jamshedpur FC), Narender Gahlot (Jamshedpur FC), Prabsukhan Gill (Kerala Blasters), Suresh Singh Wangjam (Bengaluru FC), Abhijit Sarkar (on loan at East Bengal from Chennaiyin FC) and Ninthoinganba Meetei (NorthEast United) are just a few examples. Amarjit and Gahlot have even gone on to represent the Indian national team already, with the latter even scoring in a match against Syria.

The current crop of Arrows players are also attracting attention from big clubs after putting up a competitive show in the I-League.

Shanmugam Venkatesh, the head coach of the Indian Arrows, wants players who go to ISL and I-League clubs to ensure they keep working hard on their game and make the most of the game time when they get them.

“Work hard. There is no substitute for that. It’s 10 per cent skill and 90 per cent pain. You have to earn every minute that you get out there on the pitch. And when you get your opportunities, embrace and utilise them,” the former Indian captain reasoned.

“Look at the likes of Narender and Amarjit. They are both hard-workers. Narender has made it to the senior team on the basis of his hard work, and he earned a little snippet of the result with that goal against Syria.

“As for Amarjit, he has always been a hard worker. Even after training, he would round-up the boys and do a few set-piece drills for an extra half-hour, and that’s exactly the attitude that we need. So my advice would be – work hard lads.”

With the Arrows functioning as a conveyor belt of talent and as a platform that gives these players a chance to get consistent game time, Venkatesh and team have already identified the next set of players to be inducted into the programme.

They look at the AIFF Elite, Junior and Sub-Junior leagues to cherry pick the talent apart from having scouting travel all over the country.

“It’s not always just about identification (of talent). There is a whole process of development that is there in place. And we are seeing players come through from the AIFF setup.

“Of course, we have scouts all around the country looking at different players in different tournaments. The Elite League, the Junior League and the Sub Junior League have all given us a number of quality players. Once these players are spotted, then the coaches take over and assess what aspects of their game needs to be worked upon.

“Players like Vikram (Pratap Singh), Givson (Singh), Rohit (Danu), and (Lalbiakhlua) Jongte have all come through the ranks. They have come through the U-16 and are now playing in the Arrows. It’s all about maintaining the pipeline to the senior team, keeping in mind, the vision that pushes us all forward,” explained Venkatesh.