Manolo Diaz calls recent interview 'manipulated', thanks SC East Bengal for the opportunity to coach in India

Former SC East Bengal boss Manolo Diaz has alleged that an interview of his published in the Indian Express on January 27 was "manipulated." In it, Diaz was quoted as calling the club and its management unprofessional.

The former head coach went on an eight-match winless streak in the ISL 2021-22 before he was sacked by East Bengal. However, since the publication of the interview, the Spaniard has issued a clarification letter, which was posted on East Bengal's official social media handles on Friday. In the letter, Diaz said:

"I would like to express my regret about the interview published in the Indian Express about SC East Bengal. This is manipulated and not what I intended to say and is completely out of proportion done under the force of taking out information without knowing the real facts."

Furthermore, Diaz also thanked East Bengal for giving him the opportunity to coach in India.

"From the time I was interviewed they have been nothing but professional from handling of the tickets and visa, timely payment of all salaries and clear vision of what the club targets are. This is nothing less than what we would get in Spain off the field," Diaz wrote.

In the interview with the Indian Express, Diaz allegedly described Srenik Sett, an advisor at Shree Cement, as a very "bad professional." However, in the letter, the 53-year-old coach clarified:

"I have interacted with Mr. Srenik Sett, Col. Shivaji and the entire management team and it has been nothing less than a pleasure, even as we were dealing with various severe challenges."

Meanwhile, the former head coach also opened up about the problems East Bengal had during the team building phase. He wrote:

"The entire team was made in 3-4 days and we did not get the opportunity to scout players. With the limited resources the players are still giving their best and am happy for them. The vision of Shree Cement was explained to us but unfortunately off the field matters meant that most of this could not be achieved during our tenure. Problems with limited hotels, lack of training grounds and hardly any time to even prepare kits meant that we were behind all the teams."

But he reiterated that any interview that says otherwise is misleading the reader and is fabricated. He also wished the East Bengal squad well for their upcoming matches.

The Red & Gold Brigade face ATK Mohun Bagan in a highly-anticipated Kolkata derby on Saturday.