Newly-appointed national football team coach Johan Kalin on Sunday said he wants to improve the team and get in time to pose challenge in the biennial SAFF Championship to be held in two years time.

The Swedish national, who inked a two-year contract beginning on March 1, refused to specify his target during his official unveiling, saying: “SAFF Championship is coming in two years and its important for us. I want to improve the game and I won’t sit here and say my target is to win because every coach says so.”

The last edition was the biennial event was held in September last year and Nepal have never won the tournament since its inception in 1993. “I won’t and can’t predict results, no one can promise that. But we are going to work hard as I am a dedicated and committed coach,” said Kalin, who was at the helm of Machhindra Club during the 2013-14 season steering the team to a second place finish in the Martyrs Memorial ‘A’ Division League.

The UEFA ‘A’ coaching license-holder Kalin, who did not have any prior experience of coaching a professional team before the Machhindra stint, said he had worked as coach with amateur teams in Sweden. “I have worked in football for most of my career. I have worked as football educator in Northern Sweden. After spending a season with Machhindra for a season I took my previous job as football educator and worked with Swedish FA. I was working as advisor with professional head coach and also at amateur level.”

“I am quite familiar with Nepali football. Though I am back after five years, I was always following the Nepali football all along tracking the team’s games online. But there’s huge difference in watching games on small screen and that on the pitch,” said Kalin who refused to reveal the financial terms of his contract.

ANFA president Karma Tshering Sherpa also declined to disclose the financial terms of the coach’s contract. “We will only disclosed it once the paperwork gets complete shape. We need to take the approval from government agencies and also get the working visa. Once everything is sorted out we will be able reveal it,” said the ANFA president.

Kalin said ANFA has not set any specific target for him, saying it was a challenge for him to lead the team. “I look forward to the challenge,” added Kalin. His first assignment as Nepal coach will be a friendly match against Malaysia on March 25. The coach will be without some of the influential U-23 players in Bimal Gharti Magar, Ananta Tamang and Sunil Bal for the friendly. The Nepal U-23 team is scheduled to compete in the AFC U-23 Championship Qualifier Group ‘A’ matches on March 22-26 in Qatar.