Houghton warns South Korea to guard against complacency

Doha: Indian football team coach Bob Houghton has warned title favourites South Korea to guard

against complacency and believed their imposing show in group stage of the Asian Cup was no guarantee to success in the knock-out stage of the tournament. While admiring the impressive form of the South Koreans in the event, the Englishman cautioned that the teams who don`t start well sometimes end up winning the championship. "I don`t think anyone could disagree that Korea will be one of the real favourites to win the tournament," Houghton said after his team`s 1-4 defeat to Korea. "They`ve looked really good in the group. But often it`s the teams who don`t start well end up winning the tournament. Japan have hit form, Qatar have qualified and have got home advantage, Australia were good as well. "But we have great respect for Korea. I`ve been very impressed by them and they were very good against us." The Asian powerhouse will face Iran in the quarterfinals on January 22 at the Qatar Sports Club Stadium. South Korea ended their Group C engagements with second- place finish behind Australia, who finished on top after their 1-0 victory over Bahrain yesterday. India gave glimpses of their fighting abilities against South Korea with striker Sunil Chhetri reducing the margin in the 12th minute of the game. India were appearing in their first Asian Cup since 1984 and Houghton vowed the country will come back stronger in the next edition in 2015, having gained rich experience after playing in the continent`s biggest stage. "It was a tough tournament, playing three matches in eight days that too against top sides like Australia and South Korea. We have played our best, the boys fought till the end in all the three matches. We can return home with our heads held high. "The boys have gained rich experience from the competition. So I think we will come back stronger and give better performances against the likes of Australia and South Korea in the next Asian Cup," Houghton said. The 63-year-old Englishman said he was happy that captain Bhaichung Bhutia played for some time against South Korea. "This boy is a great servant of Indian football. He has played more than 100 international matches for the country in his more than 16 years of career. He is liked by all his team-mates and is a big influence on the team. I am happy for him," said Houghton. Bhutia, who came in the 78th minute in place of Abhishek Yadav, played for nearly 15 minutes. PTI