LAHORE: Newly appointed Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur says he has a ‘real plan’ to lift Pakistan cricket team out of the dumps and hopes his players will ‘banish all their fears’ as they start a new chapter under him. Addressing a news conference at Gaddafi Stadium here Thursday, Arthur, who arrived in Lahore on Wednesday night, said he wanted Pakistan players to grow and not fear failure. “We have to give the players roots to grow and wings to fly. I don’t care if the players fail. They shouldn’t fear failure, rather should learn from them and progress as professional cricketers,’’ he maintained. Arthur also explained his decision to take up the job by saying: “If you haven’t coached in the subcontinent you haven’t really coached. It has massive attraction. You just got to look at the passion that the Pakistan public have for cricket. The passion that everybody in the subcontinent has for cricket. For me, I wanted to come and coach in the subcontinent at some stage of my coaching career.’’ Before his first interaction with Pakistan media, Arthur called on Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohammad Shaharyar Khan, PCB executive committee chairman Najam Sethi and PCB chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad. The PCB announced his arrival on its Facebook page. Arthur was appointed the national side’s head coach last month after a turbulent selection process that saw the names of the shortlisted candidates being leaked to the media. The post became vacant when former head coach Waqar Younis resigned after an abysmal run in the Asia Cup T20 and the ICC World T20 earlier this year. Arthur is ranked among top coaches in the cricket world for his extraordinary stint with South Africa. Under his tutelage the Proteas topped Tests, One-day International, and T20 International rankings. However, his 19-month tenure as Australia’s coach ended on a bitter note when he was sacked a few days before the 2013 Ashes in England after his team crashed out of the group stages of the ICC Champions Trophy. The former first-class cricketer also coached Karachi-based franchise Karachi Kings in the inaugural Pakistan Super League earlier this year. Talking about his plan for the national team, Arthur said he had already outlined a short and long-term plan for the near future. “I have had good discussion with chief selector Inzamamul Haq and others in his staff, and we believe that we need to find those players who serve us in the long-term. In short-term, we have problems in the team, i.e. discipline, which we will deal with on a day-to-day basis,’’ the 48-year-old said. “We need to make consistent selection choices in order to allow our players to improve. Any team that fears failure is a team that struggles.’’ Speaking about the upcoming tour of England, Arthur said he would specifically focus on improving the results in limited-overs format. “We need to improve in ODIs and T20s because our rankings in both formats for been poor. Our ranking in Tests is fair – mainly because we have been playing in friendly conditions.’’ Pakistan also have series against the West Indies in United Arab Emirates (September-October), two Tests in New Zealand (November) followed by three Tests and six one-day matches in Australia. “Pakistan’s upcoming tours of England, Australia and New Zealand will allow us to experiment on away conditions and see how much improvement we need in all formats,” he added. Arthur’s arrival in Pakistan was delayed by a month – due to paperwork issues involved in switching from South African to Australian citizenship – and he missed the national squad’s boot camp and skills camp, which were set up by the PCB ahead of England’s tour. The South African, who has been given a two-year contract, which is negotiable after 12 months, also praised fast bowler Mohammad Amir, due to play his first Test since being convicted in a spot-fixing case on the team’s last tour to England in 2010. “Amir is a fantastic professional. I am only interested in making him the best and other stuff is irrelevant to me and what people say about him,’’ he concluded.