I was betrayed and stabbed from behind: Nayeemuddin

Kolkata: Lashing out at his detractors after being removed as Mohammedan Sporting coach, Dronacharya awardee Syed Nayeemuddin said he was betrayed and stabbed from behind. The former India coach was fired post the second division I-League club`s failure to go past the Federation Cup qualifiers. "I have been betrayed from all quarters. I have been stabbed from behind," Nayeemuddin said. Expressing his disappointment over Sporting goalkeeping coach Humayun`s conduct, Nayeemuddin said, "Nobody knew about him. I brought him here, made him the goalkeeping coach. But he went against me, said many things behind my back. I`m really disappointed with the way things have folded." Urging the Kolkata clubs to follow the Goan model, Nayeemuddin said clubs should stop firing coaches after a few bad results. "Coaching is not magic. You need some time to build a team. I needed minimum three years to achieve better results.” The business of changing coaches should be changed. Look at Goa," he said referring to Armando Colaco`s tenure at Dempo. "Look at Odafe, he went from here and look where he is now. I am a born fighter. I don`t know what future has in store for me. How can you erect a building without a strong base," he asked. Under Nayeemuddin, Sporting lost to Oil India 1-3 in the decider of the Federation Cup qualifiers in Silchar on September 15, besides the 0-5 humiliation by East Bengal in the Calcutta Football League. Frustrated with Nayeemuddin`s methods, some of the players had reportedly claimed that he had no idea about modern coaching methods and was not ready to upgrade himself. PTI