Indian Arrows head coach Venkatesh Shanmugam wants more players from his side to play for India at the senior level.
With the 2020-21 I-League season set to kick off on January 9, the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) developmental side Indian Arrows will begin their campaign the next day against Churchill Brothers.
Indian Arrows had finished the last season at the bottom of the table. The side had nine points after 16 games with just two wins.
However, the coach feels the side had faced close defeats last year and are now well prepared for the upcoming challenge.
"Last year was a different story. If you see all the matches, we were very close and also the scoreline, most of them we lost 1-0. This is a development team, yes, of course, the results are important but at the same time, we have to see if the players are getting the right platform and opportunity," goal.com quoted Venkatesh as saying.
"This year it is a new challenge. We have a new batch of players and most of the players are 2003 born and are 17 years old," he added.
Venkatesh said that the upcoming tournament is a great opportunity for the young guns and he wants to prepare them for the senior level.
"It is a great opportunity to play in the I-League. The idea is the same for us, to prepare these players for senior India. This is a big challenge and I am confident that the boys will definitely do better," said Venkatesh.
( With inputs from ANI )
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