Football coach Desmond Bulpin sacked by AIFF

New Delhi: India under-23 and I-League side Pailan Arrows coach Desmond Bulpin has been released from his job because of "unsatisfactory results" and "style of play at odds with possessional football", according to AIFF sources.

Bulpin, whose contract runs till December, was the coach of the I-League side Indian Arrows, now known as the Pailan Arrows, and also guided the India U-23 side in the Pre-Olympic Qualifiers.

"Bulpin has been released from his job as his style of long ball play has become at odds with the national coach Armando Colaco`s possession football. Also his results as under-23 coach are also not that encouraging," a top AIFF official said. Bulpin`s name was suggested by former national coach Bob Houghton, given his experience at the youth level with English Premier League outfits.

Former national coach Sukhwinder Singh has recently been appointed Technical Director of Pailan Arrows while former ONGC coach Sujit Chakraborty, who also holds an AFC `A` licence, is likely to replace Bulpin.

The AIFF source said that a final decision on the appointment of coach will be taken in the executive committee meeting in Kolkata on September 2, before the start of the Argentina vs Venezuela international friendly match. Since the new coach of the Pailan Arrows, who would also be the India under-23 coach, is not to be known by this month, Sukhwinder is likely to guide the youngsters for the tour to the United Kingdom, where they will play against Pakistan, England under-23 and Scotland under-21 beginning September 3.

PTI