The prospect of another failed season has forced the owner of North East United FC John Abraham to reach out to his “long time friend” and former Chelsea manager, Avram Grant, to bail the team out of its present crisis.
Lying in the penultimate (ninth) position in the current standings with a win, a draw and five losses, NEUFC has “suspended” its Portuguese coach Joao de Deus while reaching out to Grant whose last assignment was coaching the Ghana National side.
The Israeli manager has been named the advisor as NEUFC negotiates a way out for de Deus. Grant has already taken over the reins of NEUFC, which had its first day’s training under him on Thursday.
Grant will be seen in the technical area when NEUFC takes on FC Goa in its eighth ISL outing, at its home in Indira Gandhi stadium on Saturday.
“I agreed to the challenge and am hitting the ground running. India is a new and exciting environment for football and I look forward to the pace of the League. I have confidence in the club and we will do all we can to take the Club forward.” Grant said in a statement released by the franchise.
Grant, who had the credit of steering the Premier League giant Chelsea to a series of great performances as its Director of football, is the fifth name to take over the job of coaching NEUFC. The side’s failure to reach the play-off stage in the previous three seasons has seen the exit of the previous four names, the latest being de Deus.
The introduction of Grant is expected to bring in some new foreigners in the side as NEUFC tries to spruce up its formation in the new transfer window available in January. According to club sources, former Benfica midfielder Helio Pinto is already practicing with the side and is expected to take the field after January 15 when the new window opens.
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