Calcutta: Mohammedan Sporting’s gung-ho mood after having qualifying for next season’s I-League has received a jolt as coach Sanjay Sen has resigned.

Sen, who played a key role in guiding the club to the top tier after a gap of four editions, informed the officials abut his decision on Friday.

Sen’s decision, however, was not an unexpected one. A few days back, he had revealed that with his son Class X Board examinations approaching, it would be difficult for him to continue as the Mohammedan Sporting coach.

On Friday, Sen informed club president Sultan Ahmed about his problem. “He (Sen) has some personal issues because of which he has to discontinue… We respect his decision and so released him,” Ahmed said.

Sen admitted that he wouldn’t have been able to devote much time to the team due to his personal commitments. “It requires 100 per cent commitment to successfully coach a team like Mohammedan Sporting. One simply cannot afford to be half-hearted while being the coach of such a historic club. Considering the present circumstances, I’m really not in a position to devote full time to the club,” he explained.

As possible replacement, the names of the Brazilian Carlos Pereira, former Mohun Bagan technical director Subrata Bhattacharya and current ONGC coach Santosh Kashyap are doing the rounds.

“We’ll finalise everything only after May 15,” Ahmed clarified.