‘I’m mentally stronger now’

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Manandeep Singh

India football striker Manandeep Singh, who lost his grandfather a few days ago but preferred to stay back with the team, played a stellar role in India’s victory against Lebanon late last week.

Manandeep later spoke at length about his personal loss, his graduation into the mainstream and more. Excerpts:

Do you feel you have graduated into the mainstream?
My coaches will be able to tell you that. My job is to perform. A striker will be reaching goal-scoring situations in every match.
The more the conversion rate, the better the striker. I am trying to improve upon that.

How important is it for a striker to play regularly?
Leave aside a striker, any player sitting on the bench will start to lose his confidence. But at the same time, a team only comprises of 11 players. It’s a healthy competition among all teammates to get into that XI.
Once you are in, you need to improve to maintain your spot otherwise someone else will snatch it from you.

How did your stint with the Indian Arrows help you?
A lot! The Indian Arrows are a platform for youngsters to get a chance to play regularly. Looking back at the Arrows, almost 13 boys have already represented India at the senior level. And most of them are around 22.
Though injury intervened in between, Arrows helped me to establish myself in Indian football. And when I got a regular chance with Air India, I grabbed it.

You lost your grandfather and were supposed to go back home for the rituals.
My dad called up and passed on the news. I was devastated. I was very close to my grandfather. I had to take a call — continue playing for my country or go back. My grandfather always supported me and wanted me to become a top-notch striker. My conscience told me to stay back and play for the team.

Is concentrating in such a situation tough?
You feel lost at that moment. I wanted to take solace in what I do best — play football. The ball and the game took away my pain. I told myself, if I get to start in the first match, I will come across an opportunity to score. I am much more mentally strong now.

What did Arthur Papas tell you?
I was given a responsibility and I tried my best. He had some specific instructions for me and my job was to stick to it and do more value addition for the team.

Tell us something about India’s new style of play.
It requires a lot of discipline. It doesn’t mean we have grasped all of it. We are still learning and will continue to learn. There are certain duties entrusted to all of us.
We need to perform individually and help each other as a team. The mind frame is much more positive now.