Frenchman Paul Le Guen categorically stated on Monday that he has no intention to quit and he is here to stay as Oman national team coach.
"I am a man of commitment. I have a contract with Oman football and I respect it," said the shrewd French coach, while announcing the list of Oman probables for the World Cup qualifiers at the Oman Football Association headquarters at the Seeb Sports Stadium.
"As long as the contract is valid, I will be a dedicated soldier of Oman and when it expires, I will leave politely. I did receive many offers but I am obliged to my contract," said Le Guen, adding that Asian Cup results must not be a judging factor.
"We lost to top teams like Australia and South Korea and I still don't think comparatively Oman football has reached the level of standard of both those teams. Their players play in top leagues around the world and Oman league is still way behind," he said.
"We can hope for many things, we can dream too. But we need to be realistic in football," he added, saying that there is no scope of complaining.
Le Guen also cited the example of Philippe Burle, who had been the under-22 coach and was shown the door after failures.
"Burle returned to coach Al Arouba Club (OPL and HM's Cup winners this season) and see how he is been rated now," Le Guen quipped.
"I repeat, if I feel I am not the man for the situation, then I will leave," said Le Guen. "There can be many situations, but it is not certainly necessary to feel guilty."
Still under pressure
When queried whether he still was under tremendous pressure, the Oman coach nodded an affirmative yes.
"Yes pressure stays all the time, but we need to build on it and deliver," he said.
Braving the calls for his ouster after Oman's early exit in the Asian Cup finals, Paul Le Guen is back into business with the World Cup qualifiers looming, which also doubles up as the qualifier for the Asian Cup 2019.
This time around the qualifiers have a new format. Unlike the past qualifying campaign for Brazil 2014, the jousting for Russia 2018 also serves as qualification for the next Asian Cup. As a result, the eight group winners, as well as the four best runners-up, will receive double rewards.
Wary of India
Le Guen said he is starting afresh and will hope to get the best result possible. Oman is placed in Group D with India, Iran, Turkmenistan and Guam and will open their campaign against India on June 11 in Bangalore.
Though Le Guen is confident of passing the first hurdle, he is indeed wary of playing India at home.
"I will not take them lightly, but I believe we will progress from this group without much hiccups. My immediate aim is to target the top two places in Group D," he said.
However, he is worried about the playing surface in Bangalore.
"Team manager Mohammed Al Alawi had visited the Sree Kanteerawa stadium ground recently found the surface uneven and bumpy," said the coach.
Later Mohammed Al Awai too said the India's English coach Stephen Constantine too expressed his unhappiness over the surface. "Apart from that we also need to worry about the weather," Le Guen added.
Meanwhile, Le Guen said that he has picked four players from the Olympic (under-22) team, but at the same time said that he did not find any young footballers who can get a direct entry to the senior squad.
"I have been watching the junior players. I found them good but not good enough to represent the nation," he said.
Mohammed Mubarak Al Nagashi, Saud Khamis Al Farsi, Ahmed Khalfan Al Siyabi (all from Sur Club) and Yaseen Khalil Al Shiyadi of Al Suwaiq Club are the under-22 players named among the 26 probables.
Al Maimani in technical staff
Meanwhile, Le Guen also said that former star and Gulf Cup winner Badr Al Maimani will be part of his technical staff from now on.
Oman national team will also play two friendlies against Bahrain in Manama on May 30 and against Syria in Muscat on June 5.
"We will travel to Bangalore, India, on June 6 and have a conditioning camp there to get acclimatised," he said.
Probables: Ali Al Habsi, Faiz Issa Al Rashdi (Saham), Riyad Sabait Al Alawi (Al Arouba), Saad Suhail Al Makhaini (Al Arouba), Ali Salim Bait Al Nahar (Dhofar), Ahmed Saleem Al Makhani (Al Arouba), Fahad Nasib Bamasela (Al Nasr), Abdulsalam Amer Al Makhaini (Al Kuwait), Mohammed Saleh Al Musalami (Fanja), Ali Suleiman Al Busaidi (Al Nahda), Nasser Ali Al Shamali (Al Arouba), Ahmed Mubarak 'Kanu' (Al Arouba), Ali Hilal Al Gabri (Fanja), Eid Mohammed Al Farsi (Al Arouba), Mohsin Jawahar Al Khaldi (Saham), Raid Ibrahim Saleh (Fanja), Hussein Ali Al Hadari (Dhofar), Fahad Khamis Al Galboubi (Saham), Mohammed Mubarak Al Nagashi (Sur), Abdulaziz Humaid Al Miqbali (Al Kuwait), Abdulrehman Saleh Al Gasani (Fanja), Qasim Said Sangour (Al Nasr), Imad Al Hosni (Saham), Yaseen Khalil Al Shiyadi (Suwaiq), Saud Khamis Al Farsi (Sur) and Ahmed Khalfan Al Siyabi (Sur).
