KARACHI: Former Tottenham Hotspur player Graham Roberts will join the Pakistan football team as a coaching consultant from October 20.
“When the Austrian coach George Kotten left Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) in February, we wanted Liverpool’s Ian Rush to coach the team but since he was unavailable, we dropped the idea of getting a new coach,” PFF Secretary Ahmed Yar Lodhi told The Express Tribune.
“We contacted Roberts in September because we were also looking for UK-based footballers but things regarding his future will be finalised once he arrives in Lahore.”
Roberts, who has won two FA Cups and an UEFA Cup with Spurs, will stay in Pakistan for two months where he will serve as a consultant to the PFF, especially for the Asian Games.
The federation, according to Lodhi, will consider hiring Roberts as head coach if he manages to develop a relationship with the players and adjust to the system during his period as a consultant. Lodhi also claimed that Roberts has signed this agreement with the help of private sponsors in the UK.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Under-23 coach Akhtar Mohiuddin is optimistic about Roberts’ arrival and agreed it was a “positive sign” for the team but added that he still had final say in all decisions regarding the team for the Asian Games, according to the PFF.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 9th, 2010.
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