ISL 2017/18: Former Kerala Blasters coach Rene Meulensteen hits out at Sandesh Jhingan

What's the story?

Rene Meulensteen, who recently parted ways with Kerala Blasters criticised Kerala Blasters captain Sandesh Jhingan for his off-field attributes. The Blasters are having a very average season and have won just three out of 11 games.

In case you didn't know...

A poor string of results led to Meulensteen's departure and former player David James was appointed as the head coach of the team. However, Meulensteen partly blamed the Chandigarh-born Indian defender for his ouster.

The heart of the matter

Before Kerala Blasters' defeat against Bengaluru FC which led to his ouster, FC Goa had beaten the runners-ups of the previous season 5-2. It was then that Meulensteen found that Jhingan was partying and drinking till 4 am that very night.

"One of the most important factors (for the sacking) and I think everybody needs to know this - after the game against FC Goa, where we lost 5-2, I found out that the captain Sandesh Jhingan had been up partying and drinking until 4 AM in the morning," Meulensteen said to Goal.com.

"Do you call that being a good professional? If you call that being a good captain, then I think that is a poor practice."

Meulensteen termed Jhingan's antics very unprofessional and even worse because he was the captain who was supposed to lead the team by a good example.

"And the day I got released, I asked him about the performance and he was still smelling of alcohol," he said. "And that is the captain who is representing the fans and the club. He thinks he is a big professional in India but in my opinion, he let himself and everybody down! Disgraceful,"

What's next?

The performance of players and especially the captain made the CEO of Kerala Blasters personally meet them. The CEO was unhappy himself but the situation was dealt with. After Rene Meulensteen's sacking former Liverpool and Manchester City shot-stopper David James was reinstated as the manager.

So far, under James' tenure, Kerala had won one, drawn two and lost one game in this season and will be playing against FC Goa on Sunday at 8 pm.

Author's take

The proper evidence behind Sandesh's antiques is not there but this, if true should have been avoided by him. He is one of the most influential players in the Indian side and should be responsible in his on and off-field activities.