Wednesday 27 August 2014 16:18, UK
Former West Brom boss Steve Clarke has revealed he would entertain an offer to coach in the Indian Super League.
Clarke was in the frame to succeed Tony Pulis as Crystal Palace manager and reportedly held initial talks with Palace chairman Steve Parish before Neil Warnock was appointed on Wednesday.
The former Chelsea defender, who was understood to have met the owner of the Goan franchise in London earlier this month, says he would consider an approach from an ISL club.
"It’s definitely something I wouldn’t turn a blind eye to and I wouldn’t dismiss it out of hand," Clarke told Sky Sports.
"Obviously I'd like to get back to work in the Barclays Premier League as quickly as possible.
"I want to get back involved with that but if an opportunity comes up to speak to somebody in the Indian Super League then maybe it is something I would consider.
“I had good chats with one or two decent clubs but obviously you have to get a feel for a club for yourself.
“I spoke to the Goan franchise. We’ve had some discussions but there’s nothing concrete in that either. The ISL is a good project.”
The eight-team league backed by the All India Football Federation, its marketing partner IMG-Reliance and broadcaster Star Sports, will run for 10 weeks beginning on October 12.
Arsenal ‘Invincibles’ Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg are pencilled in to take part along with ex- Juventus striker David Trezeguet and former Liverpool trio David James, Luis Garcia and Josemi.
Clarke is confident the league will boost football in India and will help trigger a rise in the country’s FIFA world ranking, which currently sits at No.151.
“I think for Indian football it’s an exciting development,” he said.
“Obviously where they are ranked in the world is not good. For a country that size they should be ranked much higher in the world.
“But it shows that the people who are running the football in the country and responsible for it are thinking about how they can make it better.”
