Chief national football coach Bob Houghton on Wednesday held the country’s top clubs responsible for the dearth of quality strikers in India, saying the outfits were not giving proper opportunity to indigenous talent.

“The clubs are responsible for this problem. Apart from Baichung (Bhutia) and Sunil Chhetri, Indian strikers are not regulars in their own clubs. How do you expect that there would be a flurry of quality strikers in the national side?” Houghton asked during an informal interaction at the Salt Lake stadium. The Briton, who took over the responsibility of the Indian team two years back, referred to the ordeal of nippy Mahindra United forward Manjit Singh, who had warmed the benches for most of the season.

“Manjit Singh is a very good example of suppression of local talent,” said the seasoned coach.

Giving Saudi Arabia’s example, Houghton said the middle east nation had slapped a ban on importing foreign strikers between 1984 and 1989 and were now reaping the fruits.