Bagan appoints Biswajit coach after Chatterjee`s resignation

Kolkata: Mohun Bagan today appointed former India international Biswajit Bhattacharjee as their new coach

for the remainder of the season after Satyajit Chatterjee quit the job following a series of listless performances by the outfit in the I-League and KFL premier division. "After much deliberations overnight we have decided to appoint Bhattacharjee as our chief coach till the end of the season," Mohun Bagan General Secretary Anjan Mitra told reporters here. "It`s very disappointing that during a season we have had to change our coaches for the second time," Mitra added. With Mohun Bagan having lost out of I-League title race following a four-match winless streak, which included back-to-back losses to relegation threatened Sporting Clube de Goa and Lajong FC, Chatterjee put in his papers yesterday, barely less than two months after his appointment. After Moroccan Karim Bencherifa parted ways, Chatterjee, a former Mohun Bagan player, started his stint with a bang with a 5-1 whipping of Chirag United. But the green and maroon brigade soon lost track with losses to two bottom-rung clubs. "We never asked him to go. He was given full freedom. We have good relations with both the coaches and they can still return. He thought that he could not perform his role as per the expectation so he opted to part ways. But he is not leaving permanently. He became very disappointed after Bagan`s recent failures," Mitra said. Mitra urged the fans to support the team in times of crisis. "We should not expect to perform in one standard throughout the season," he said. Bhattacharjee, who was in the hot seat for sometime in the 2005-06 season, said he was well aware of the risk involved. "Right from my playing days, we have learnt to take pressure. We have been continuously exposed to the criticism and abuses of fans. That`s why I am taking such a risk," he said. Currently on Calcutta Port Trust`s roster, the former India forward said, "I have taken permission from the Port Trust." Asked about his immediate target, he said, "I have to maintain the quality." Bagan also announced the appointment of Dipesh Bhattacharjee as the team physio, while Hemanta Dora was retained as the goalkeeping coach. In their next I-League match, Bagan face Salgaocar, a team under their former coach Bencherifa, on April 10. Bagan are now placed on the fifth spot in the I-League standings with 25 points from 18 matches. PTI