Manoranjan Bhattacharjee

Calcutta: Manoranjan Bhattacharjee has been appointed East Bengal coach till the end of the I-League following Subrata Bhattacharya’s resignation on Wednesday. Subrata cited ill health as the reason for his quitting.

“Subrata informed me of his decision in the afternoon… We accepted his resignation and sat down to select the next coach. A few names cropped up, but Manoranjan was a unanimous choice,” East Bengal secretary Kalyan Majumdar told a news conference at the club tent in the evening.

Subrata, who took charge of East Bengal at the beginning of the season and guided the club to the Federation Cup summit, said in his letter that he was not physically fit to carry on with the job.

No decision has, however, been taken on appointing an assistant for Manoranjan. “That will be decided after we sit down with Manoranjan,” Majumdar said, adding that the former East Bengal player and coach will take charge on Friday.

East Bengal are lurking in relegation zone in the 10-team competition, having garnered just eight points from 11 matches. The three-time champions are in ninth spot, just above Salgaocar.

Subrata wanted to resign after East Bengal lost 0-3 to JCT on Monday — their seventh loss in the league.

“The bad performance (in the I-League) led to mental stress and ill health… It is not possible for me to continue like this,” Subrata told The Telegraph.

A section of club officials had been holding the coach responsible for the dismal performance, saying that the team lacked cohesion due to a rift between local players and those from other states.

Monoranjan, who spent almost his entire playing career with East Bengal, had more than one stint as East Bengal coach. His name had been doing the rounds as a possible successor to Subrata for the past couple of days.

For Manoranjan, the challenge is obviously to bail East Bengal out of relegation. “Though I have family commitments, I couldn’t say no when East Bengal asked me to take charge… This club has given me a lot, so…”