Breaking: Shankarlal Chakraborty resigns as Mohun Bagan head coach

The Mariners have endured a particularly tough campaign with the 43-year-old tactician at the helm.

Mohun Bagan head coach Shankarlal Chakraborty has handed in his resignation to the club. The decision comes right after his side suffered a 1-2 loss against Real Kashmir in their I-league clash at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Chakraborty was passed on the baton last season, when former Bagan tactician Sanjoy Sen resigned after a series of disappointing results. The Mariners went into the match with a fighting attitude and needed three points against high-flying Real Kashmir. But, they maintained their dismal home form and were defeated by the better side on the day.

Shankarlal has been at the club for a long time and was mostly an understudy to former head coach Sen. He took over the reins from him last season and steered the sinking ship to safer shores, as the team ended the campaign on a high. He started the current term brightly winning the Calcutta Football League (CFL), ending arch-rivals East Bengal's eight-year dominance in the local league.

Chakraborty's time at the club saw him develop Mohun Bagan into a fluent passing side and nurture local talents like Sourav Das and Pintu Mahata. Both the youngsters have emerged as a force to be reckoned with this season under his tutelage, especially in the CFL. However, the I-League has proved a different test altogether, as the coach failed to bring defensive stability to their ranks.

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A defeat at the hands of bitter rivals East Bengal meant that it was one more step closer towards the inevitable, but still the Bagan coach stayed put. With the club failing to impress the Mariners' faithful at home in Kolkata yet again, questions will be raised on Shankarlal's tactical prowess.

Mohun Bagan are currently in sixth position in the league table and are nine points adrift of current leaders Chennai City. It will be a tough task for the Kolkata giants from here to salvage the season.