Kolkata giants East Bengal appoint Bastob Roy as new head coach

The former ATK assistant will be the latest to attempt to guide the Red and Gold to their first I-League title.

Kolkata giants East Bengal today summoned a press conference to announce the appointment of Bastob Roy as their new head coach. The gathering also included members of the club including Technical Director Subhash Bhowmick, Football Secretary Rajat Guha and General Secretary Kalyan Majumdar.

Majumdar ended the mystery and announced Roy as the head coach honouring him with a club scarf. When questioned about his decision the former ATK assistant manager said, "I am honoured to be the new East Bengal head coach and its my privilege to work with someone like Subhash Bhowmick. The job here is more challenging and the stature of the club attracted my attention."

Roy was the face of ATK in the inaugural Super Cup

Roy made it clear that he and Bhowmick have known each other for a long time and share a great relationship. He also reiterated that it will be a great opportunity for him to grow and learn under the tutelage of Bhowmick.

East Bengal have come very close to winning the I-League through the years, but fate has always had something different to offer the Red and Gold as their season has ended with disappointment on each occasion. So, this year they are looking to end the hoodoo and win their maiden I-League title.

Speaking about Roy's past experience with ATK and  working with foreign coaches like Jose Molina and Antonio Habas, Bhowmick claimed, "The pressure at a Kolkata club is on another level in comparison to all ISL clubs, so it will be a big challenge for Bastob Roy to guide us to glory this year, but we are hopeful."

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Bhowmick claimed that he was looking forward to giving more chances to local youngsters in the Calcutta Football League. "I want the youngsters to perform in the CFL so that we can rely on them in the upcoming season of the I-League."

Bhowmick didn't open up about the number of foreigners he wanted to take in the upcoming CFL season and claimed that he wiill allow the local players to blossom.

Speaking about other members of staff, Bhowmick claimed that there are some financial constraints and it depends on the club to decide whom they can afford to retain. Speaking about Physical Trainer, Djair Garcia, Majumdar said that it is highly unlikely that he will remain at the club for the next season.

In other news, former Mohun Bagan officials Srinjoy Bose and Debashish Dutta who resigned from their respective posts at the start of the Super Cup have said they have withdrawn their resignation letters.

The duo also stated that, "We had never really resigned from our posts. Even after our resignation letter, we have actively signed cheques, which means we were working and did not back out from our jobs related to the club."

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See the entire press conference here: