What’s the story?
East Bengal coach Trevor Morgan has dismissed suggestions that he will be handing in his resignation after losing the crucial Kolkata Derby to Mohun Bagan on Sunday. The fever-pitch game saw the Red and Gold being outclassed in all facets of the game as they went down 1-2 to the Mariners in the vital six-pointer at the top of the table in the I-League.
Speaking to Sambad Pratidin, a Bengali daily, Morgan quipped, "I am devastated by the result. Really devastated. Overwhelmingly devastated.
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"But I have not intentions to quit the job. Why should I quit?
"In fact, we are starting the training on Tuesday. Our next game is at home again Shillong Lajong. And what we are preparing for.”
Morgan also conceded that their chances of realistically winning the I-League might be over. However, vowed to fight till there is any mathematical chance of that happening.
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After starting the season as the team to beat, East Bengal’s campaign has been derailed of late after losing three games on the trot. Two losses to relegation battlers Churchill Brothers and Chennai City had put the pressure on Morgan’s team to deliver in the derby. And with just a mere three points separating them from the top, this derby was more than just bragging rights.
However, with the loss, the advantage has swung in favour of the bitter-rivals Mohun Bagan, who whizzed past them into second spot and still have a game in hand over surprise league leaders Aizawl FC.
The heart of the story
The club has been plagued by struggles within the upper hierarchy and Morgan’s bitterness with some of the member within the club has not gone unnoticed. The club’s general secretary Kalyan Majumdar had even gone as far as to say that he didn’t expect the club to win anything this season.
All these friction within the power rankers within the club combined with East Bengal’s devastating results of late led many to believe that Morgan’s days in charge of the Red and Gold are numbered. However, his latest statement seems to have cleared the air at least from his side.
The East Bengal coach, however, did say that the loss had taken a huge toll on him mentally and he failed to get much sleep after the game.
What’s next?
Morgan had also quipped in the post-match press conference that he had very little to do with the signing of the players, a statement which didn’t seem to have gone down well with some of the members of the club hierarchy.
However, the Australian feels that with his contract in place till the end of the season, he will get all the help he will need in terms of preparing his side from the club authorities.
Author's take
The blame game seems to continue in the East Bengal camp and the mood at the whole club because of this seems to be gloomy. While it’s pretty easy to for the East Bengal coach to shift the blame to the board for their recruitment, it’s hard to sink it all in. The Australian was never high in praising the board when the Red and Gold went off to a blistering start.
Also, his decision to leave some of India’s finest talents like Romeo Fernandes and Jackichand Singh seems to be a bit baffling.
