Estonia coach fearful of the sack

By John Sinnott

Goes was appointed caretaker coach of Estonia in 2004

Estonia coach Jelle Goes fears defeats in the Baltic state's forthcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers against Croatia and England in June could cost him his job.

With Andorra, Estonia are joint bottom of Euro 2008 qualifying Group E after losing all five of their matches.

"From what I understand my job's on the line," Dutchman Goes told BBC Sport. "Of course it goes through my mind I could be out of work in June.

"But if I was really worried about it I couldn't do my job properly."

Estonia's uncertain start to their Euro 2008 qualification is in a sharp contrast to the optimism the 37-year-old Goes engendered during qualification for the 2006 World Cup.

Goes was initially appointed as caretaker coach of Estonia in 2004, before he assumed the job on a full-time basis during those qualifiers, when the Baltic state won five games.

The expectation is very high in Estonia, particularly from the media Estonia coach Jelle Goes

But as Goes is keen to point out that World Cup qualifying group included Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Latvia, teams of a similar Fifa ranking to Estonia.

"With sides of the quality of England, Croatia, Russia and Israel, we're now in a group that's much tougher," said Goes, who coaches the Estonia players in English.

"These are difficult teams to beat and even Macedonia are a hard side to overcome."

Arguably there have been mitigating circumstances in Estonia's miserable start to Euro 2008 qualification.

Goes was without his first-choice defence in the 4-0 defeat to Israel and in the two defeats to Russia, Estonia played well for an hour.

Goes' side also had their opportunities in Estonia's opening fixtures against Macedonia and Israel, which both ended in 1-0 defeats.

Mart Poom is one of the few Estonians who have played abroad

"We had chances, but we didn't take them. The quality was missing and that is something we have to develop."

Yet five qualifying defeats and no points means Goes is experiencing the intense scrutiny of an often hostile media as well as an expectant football association, much like England coach Steve McClaren.

"In a small country like Estonia there's quite a lot of pressure hanging on your shoulders," said Goes.

"If you're coach of Estonia or the coach of England there are lots of journalists giving their opinions.

"That's something you have to learn how to handle.

ESTONIA KEY FACTS Home stadium: A Le Coq Arena Fifa ranking: 110 Qualifying record: Never reached major championship Most capped player: Martin Reim - 150 caps Top goalscorer: Andres Oper - 32 goals in 102 games Did you know? Estonia failed to turn up for 1996 game against Scotland after floodlights declared unsafe

"Dealing with the players is not such a big problem. With the players you make rules for inside and outside the camp and obviously you've got to make the right choices about your tactics.

"But the job of being a national coach is not just about putting the ball in the middle of pitch and saying let's play.

"The expectation is very high in Estonia, particularly from the media.

"On paper nobody would bet on Estonia, but the good thing about football is that the game starts at 0-0."

Goes has found his other major problem in coaching Estonia is that he has to choose from a very small pool of players.

"We've a small league with 10 teams and in reality I can only pick from three of those sides.

"Football only started to get serious from 1992 when Estonia split from the former Soviet Union.

"We don't have more than 10,000 players in total, and that's including youth, amateurs and seniors.

"Some players with a good development went to Scandinavia but they weren't so lucky and they ended up on the bench and didn't play regularly - all this has a influence on the national team."

An amateur player in Holland with SV Huizen and GVVV Veenendaal, Goes has been working as a football coach since he was 18.

Estonia failed to show up against Scotland in October World Cup 1996

Between 1992 and 1996, Goes worked as a sports instructor in the Dutch Army, before he took charge of Estonia's Under-21 side in 2001.

Goes laughs when asked about the level of discipline he expects in the Estonia national team.

"I'm not standing in my dugout or next to the training pitch like a soldier," quips the Dutchman.

"That's not my approach. I know a certain kind of discipline is needed for a football team.

"You need discipline whether you have a nine-to-five job or you're a football player.

"The players know they have to take responsibility and if they need to change something they have to recognise that and do it themselves.

"Discipline doesn't just come from the coach. It needs to grow and come from the players so they can make the important decisions."