Sukhwinder resigns from Churchill,Bhowmick tipped to take over

New Delhi: Churchill Brothers Technical Director Sukhwinder Singh on Monday resigned from his post after the club`s lackluster performance in the I-League season so far and Subhash Bhowmick may return at the helm of affairs in his place.

Bhowmick, who guided Churchill Brothers to I-League crown last season in the capacity of Technical Director, is tipped to take charge in the same capacity, club sources said. Sukhwinder told PTI from Goa that Churchill Brothers owners have accepted his resignation and he was leaving the club "on mutual understanding and goodwill". "Churchill Brothers is a big team and defending I-League champions and there is big expectation from the supporters and owners. So I told the owners that the performance so far has not been upto the mark and I am responsible for this," he said. "Mr Alemao was very kind to me and he said that I should not take the sole responsibility (of the poor performance). But I insisted that I may be relieved and they have agreed to that. It was parting of ways on goodwill and mutual understanding," said Sukhwinder, a former India coach. In the four matches played so far, Churchill won two and lost two (against Mumbai FC and Salgaocar) and they are occupying 11th position in the table though these are early days in the season. Club owner Churchill Alemao could not be reached despite repeated attempts but a team source said that it`s 99 per cent certain that Bhowmick will be offered the job. "We are going to offer the job to Bhowmick, it`s 99 per cent certain," the source said. When contacted, Bhowmick, who is holidaying in Goa, said, "I don`t know about that yet and I have not got anything. Even if offered to me I will think over." The tricky issue will be that the AIFF is set enforce the rule from next year that Technical Directors will have to be AFC A-License holders or equivalent while coaches will have to be Pro-License holders. The likes of Bhowmick and Sukhwinder are not A-License holders and if the former is to be appointed by Churchill again as Technical Director, he will have to get the necessary professional degree or will have to be at the helm of affairs for just this season. Recently, Sukhwinder was told during an I-League match by the Match Commissioner that he cannot sit at the team dug-out as he does not have the mandatory qualifications to act as a Technical Director. The AIFF had, however, intervened swiftly, saying that this rule will only be enforced from the 2014-15 season onwards.