ISL: Kerala Blasters coach Rene Meulensteen resigns

Bengaluru, January 2: Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters on Tuesday (January 2) said they have parted ways with their coach Rene Meulensteen after a poor start to their season.

His resignation comes on a day when Mohun Bagan coach Sanjoy Sen stepped down for similar reasons.

Sanjoy Sen resigns as Mohun Bagan coach

Blasters have just one win in the ISL so far. They are placed eighth in the 10-man table and have recorded four draws and two losses. Despite signing former Manchester United stalwarts Dimitar Berbatov and defender Wes Brown, the Kochi-based club is yet to make an impact in the league.

Second day of 2018 and two big 'resignations' in #IndianFootball. Rene Meulensteen steps down as Kerala Blasters coach in the ISL and Sanjoy Sen quits as Mohun Bagan coach following the defeat to Chennai City.

— Mihir Vasavda (@mihirsv) January 2, 2018

"I'd like to thank the management, staff, players and amazing fans for this experience and wish them well for the future," Meulensteen said in a statement.

Club CEO confirmed his departure. "The club likes to thank Rene for all the hard work in his time at the club. The replacement would be announced soon," said Varun Tripuraneni, CEO of Kerala Blasters.

The club, in its official communication, said Meulensteen cited personal reasons for stepping down from the job.

The club will be temporarily managed by assistant coach Thangboi Singto, who was with Shillong Lajong last year in the I-League.

About René Meulensteen - not surprised at all. Had to happen. He hasn't been able to crack it and it goes to show how the most impressive CV doesn't always win.

On a side note - @KeralaBlasters, have you heard of this guy called Sanjoy Sen? 👀#HeroISL #IndianFootball #KBFC

— Ankush Sharma (@OkayAnkush) January 2, 2018

Meulensteen's resignation comes after a disappointing 1-3 loss to Bengaluru FC on New Year's Eve (December 31) at home (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium). They will play their next game on January 4 against confident FC Pune City.

Meulensteen is a former assistant coach of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

The only reason Dimitar Berbatov and Wes Brown joined Kerala Blasters was Rene Meulensteen. Will be interesting to see how they react now.

— Arun George (@saysarun) January 2, 2018

Kerala Blasters are two-time finalists and lost their chance to bag the ISL title to ATK (then named Atletico de Kolkata). They were coached to the final in 2014 by David James and in 2016 by Steve Coppell, the current Jamshedpur FC coach.