New Aizawl FC head coach Santosh Kashyap is confident of ending the club's seven-match winless run and in the process save the club from relegation in the ongoing I-League season.
Kashyap was given the reins on Tuesday evening after the defending champion showed the door to Portuguese Paulo Menezes late on Monday. The North-East club is currently sixth on the points table with 17 points after 13 matches. The club also has a shot at continental glory with AFC Cup group stage to follow at the end of the season.
Full story: Aizawl appoints new head coach
The 51-year-old, who last managed Mumbai FC in the I-league in the 2016-17 season, is eager for the latest challenge in Mizoram. "If you look at my coaching record, I have taken over teams during the middle of the season and taken them out of relegation - Salgaocar, Royal Wahingdoh and Air India FC. Aizawl is a strong club with a strong fan base and has grown in a very short time. They started well this season but couldn't get the positive results in the last few matches," Kashyap told Sportstar .
His latest stint at the Cooperage, however, didn't end too well for the former India international. He was sacked midway through the season after a series of poor results, which resulted in the team being relegated.
Kashyap was made aware of the interest by the club late on Monday and will be flown over to Goa on Wednesday to meet up with the squad for his first training session. There, he will take charge of his first game against Indian Arrows on Friday. "They have a good mix of experienced and old players. Their goal scoring from last few matches is one area of concern," he pointed out. The team has found the back of the net only on four occasions in the seven-game winless streak.
Read: Menezes lashes out at Aizawl board
On the possibility of getting in his desired reinforcements before the end of the domestic transfer deadline on the February 15, the former India international said, "I am yet to meet with the club's management. My current task at hand is the match against Indian Arrows."
Aizawl owner Robert Romawia Royte is also aware of the task at hand for the new man in charge of stemming the rot. "We are going to play in the AFC Cup group stages in March and the results with the previous coach were poor. We have certain expectations and we need to show improvement in our results," Royte told Sportstar of Kashyap's appointment.
Since the AIFF developmental side Indian Arrows is exempt from relegation, the pressure will mount on the bottom-placed to teams to avoid climbing down the league. Churchill Brothers is seventh on the table with 16 points from 13 games, followed by newcomer Gokulam Kerala with 13 points from 13 games. Chennai City, with 13 points from 15 matches, is last in the standings.
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