ISL: Rene Meulensteen ends association with Kerala Blasters

It is deja-vu all over again! Indian Super League (ISL) giants Kerala Blasters have parted ways with famed coach Rene Meulensteen on Tuesday January 2. Former Manchester United coach Meulensteen, who worked as an assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson, was one of the biggest names in the ISL this 2017-18 season.

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The string of poor results from the two-time finalists, off late, is the main reason behind this step, which may not come as very shocking.

Kerala Blasters suffered a 1-3 thrashing at the hands of Bengaluru FC on New Year's eve in Kochi. That result saw them drop down to the eighth position in the league. The Blasters have recorded just one win from their seven games this season and have lost twice.

In the year 2015, Kerala Blasters parted ways prematurely with coach Peter Taylor, before appointing Terry Phelan for the remainder of the season. In their last four seasons, the ISL side from Kerala have had appointed as many as seven high-profile coaches, including former caretaker coach Trevor Morgan and current assistant coach Thangboi Singto.

"I like to thank the management, staff, players and amazing fans for this experience and wish them well for the future," came the note from Meulensteen on Tuesday evening.

While the replacement for Meulensteen hasn't been announced yet, it is believed that assistant coach Thangboi Singto will take charge of the side until a new head coach has been appointed.

The Blasters play FC Pune City at home on Thursday, before embarking on three back-to-back away challenges against Delhi Dynamos, Mumbai City FC and Jamshedpur FC, respectively.