KARACHI, Oct 23: As the football administrators prepare to show the foreign coaches the door, national players have thrown their weight behind the trainers, saying they are an asset for Pakistan.

The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) faces a crisis inflicted by itself after Asian Football Confederation (AFC) suspended its development fund programme.

The possible step of releasing the coaches would come on the pretext of the suspension of AFC programme under which Pakistan got two coaches and an executive secretary in Lahore.

A British coach, John Layton, came here in Dec 1999 for the junior squads, while senior team coach David Burns landed in March 2000. Burns was sacked by the PFF in January last year with England’s tour barely a month away after what the officials said “attitude problem”.

Layton also looked after the seniors before the arrival of Burns’s replacement Jozef Herel, a Slovak, who joined the squad earlier this year in January.

Following the suspension of AFC aid, both, Layton and Herel, leave if PFF decides against renewing their contracts which expire in December this year.

The PFF is pondering releasing them despite AFC’s proposal which allows PFF to retain the coaches, paying them through FIFA’s $one million grant. Pakistan is one of the recipients of FIFA funds.

“I must say Layton is the best coach Pakistan ever had. It is because of him we created history by scoring first-ever goal and gained a point at World Cup qualifiers,” Pakistan ace striker Gohar Zaman said.

The forward said it would be unfortunate for Pakistan soccer if Layton was asked to leave.

“He selects players on merit without bias. Technically he is the most sound coach I have ever worked with. Under his guidance we qualified for Under-17 and Under-19 Asian championship main round for the first time in history.

“Anybody who alleges Layton fielded over-aged player must be out of his mind. People sit here and give statements on tournaments we play abroad. If Layton and Herel leave we’ll return from where we started three years ago,” the striker said.

Gohar, who scored Pakistan’s first hat trick at World Cup qualifiers against Sri Lanka, was against the idea of having local coaches. “If we had good local coaches, football would not have been in the state in which it was three years ago. It is because of these ‘local coaches’ game has been damaged.”

Pakistan captain Haroon Yousuf said it would be a great loss if Pakistan decided against renewing Layton’s contract.

“He treats the players like real professionals, taught us how to play attacking football. He has instilled confidence in us. He is a sincere person who always believes in merit,” he said.

The midfielder said technically Layton was far better than local coaches.

“If he goes, it will break the rythm. He knows us and we know him. That’s the big part of the whole thing. The game could only prosper if he continues to coach, especially juniors,” he added.

Pakistan junior skipper Ashfaq Ahmad heaped praise on Layton and gave him full credit for guiding his side to victories it achieved for the first time ever.

“We beat teams like Sri Lanka and India to qualify for the Under-19 Asian contest main round. It was no mean achievement. He is a trainer with an ability to pick right stuff,” he said.

Asadullah, a Pakistan defender said: “It will be a loss for Pakistan football if Layton goes. He really taught us how to be sincere and play for the country — a thing which our own people did not teach us.”

Pakistan midfielder Adeel Ahmad says: “Layton should stay. His achievement under the circumstances are more than 100 per cent.”