Kerala Blasters appoint TG Purushothaman as reserves team head coach

The 43-year-old previously coached FC Kerala who has played in the Second Division League.

Indian Super League (ISL) outfit Kerala Blasters have appointed TG Purushothaman as the reserves team head coach, Khel Now can confirm. He replaces Renjith TA, who was the former head coach of the reserves team.

"Kerala Blasters have appointed TG Purushothaman as the new head coach of their reserves team," a source close to the developments informed Khel Now. The 43-year-old was previously the head coach of FC Kerala, the club that made its Second Division League debut in the 2017-18 season. He was also the assistant coach of the Kerala state team in the Santosh Trophy 2019-20.

A former goalkeeper, TG Purushothaman has represented the likes of Dempo SC, Mahindra United, State Bank of Travancore (SBT) and Viva Kerala (later Chirag United Kerala). He won the National Football League (NFL), Durand Cup and Federation Cup with Mahindra United and was also the skipper of Viva Kerala for a brief period. As the player, the biggest among all his achievements would be lifting the Santosh Trophy, which he did as a part of the Kerala state team that won the tournament in 2001.

He took charge of FC Kerala as their head coach in the 2017-18 season and led them in the Second Division League in his maiden season there. Under him, the team won six out of their 10 matches but failed to advance to the final round.

The Thrissur-based club played in the league once again in 2019-20, during which they registered wins against Kerala Blasters reserves. They also managed to draw against FC Goa Reserves and Mumbai City FC Reserves before the league got called off due to COVID-19. Purushothaman's colleagues have labelled the tactician as an expert in youth development. Going ahead, fans can hence expect him to work diligently with the Yellow Army's reserves team, which comprises of talented starlets like Sachin Suresh, Shahajas Thekkan, Umesh Perambra, Kenstar Kharshong, Leiminlun Doungel and Gotimayum Muktasana.

In other news, Blasters boss Kibu Vicuna's assistant coach Tomasz Tchorz has also assumed a new role as the Technical Advisor of the reserves team. Khel Now has learned that the 28-year-old has already reached Kochi and completed his mandatory 14-day quarantine, after having relieved himself of his duties with the first team in Goa.