National football coach Bob Houghton, who guided India to AFC Challenge Cup victory, has expressed his keenness to continue at the helm of affairs for a second tenure to take the country to a higher level in Asian football.

The win in the AFC Challenge Cup had earned India and a berth in the 2011 Asian Cup after 24 years.

On Tuesday, All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi had told PTI that Houghton's current contract, which expires in June next year, will be extended at least till 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Doha, and the coach reciprocated by setting new goals for Indian football.

"Qualifying for the Asian Cup is only our first goal, and next we'll see about booking a place at the 2018 World Cup. My contract expires at the end of this year (season), but both the AIFF and I are keen to extend it. I'm aiming to develop a new generation that will make India proud in Asian competition in the years to come," Houghton told official FIFA website.

Though it is not known whether Houghton was talking after Dasmunshi's decision to give him a second tenure, the 60-year-old Englishman is happy that his two-year stay as coach has brought a sea-change in the football fortunes of the country.

"I'm very satisfied with the team's performance, and their success has sparked a lot of excitement and passion for football across the country. Football in India has also made a giant leap forward at club level also," the former China and Uzbekistan coach said.

"I've had two very happy years with India. During this period, the team played 23 games and we've only lost three. In the process, we won the Nehru Cup in 2007, as well as the Challenge Cup. We have a relatively stable first eleven now. Quite a few young talents have broken into the senior side, while the experienced players also have key roles to play," said Houghton, who took over as India coach in June 2006.

The consistent progress that Indian players have made in the two years has impressed the globe-trotting Houghton, and he now strongly recommends them to move to Europe to play club football, which has proved such an important path to improvement for many other Asian nations, including China.

"When I coached China in 1998, they had no overseas-based players - they simply didn't believe in themselves. But after the team's encouraging results, like the win over Japan in the EAFF Championship, some top players like Fan Zhiyi and Sun Jihai made high-profile transfers to European clubs," said the Indian coach.

"We have a host of talented players like Sunil Chhetri, who have the potential to earn a move to Europe," he said, singling out the 24-year-old striker, who scored a hat-trick against Tajikistan in the AFC Challenge Cup final.

Most importantly, he added that "We must make the Indian people believe their players can make it."