David James appointed as new Kerala Blasters head coach

The Englishman returns to Indian football with his former club and replaces the departed Rene Meulensteen.

Indian Super League (ISL) outfit Kerala Blasters have appointed former player-coach David James as the club's new manager for the rest of the season. The former English goalkeeper will replace Rene Meulensteen who left the southerners yesterday after a poor string of matches. James was at Kerala in the inaugral season of the ISL, where the team made it to the Final losing to eventual champions ATK (then atletico de kolkata).

Blasters have been off colour this season, currently sitting in 8th posiiton in the league table, they needed a change in mentality and tactics. With James already familiar with Indian football and the club, the supporters will hope that there is an immediate change in fortunes.

The former shot-stopper has played for many Premier League clubs including Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham United, Manchester City and Portsmouth. He also featured for England in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

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He was pretty instumental in leading the Tuskers when he was their player-manager in 2014. The 47-year-old was a dominant force both on and off the pitch in the inaugural season of the league.

Blasters supporters will welcome him with open arms as he is one of their fan favourites and they will also be hoping that somehow their team gets back on track. Kerala currently lack creativity in midfield and they hardly have any quality midfielder. They have also had no plan going forward and have struggled for a consistent supplyof goals.

The Englishman will definitely have a tough job as his former team is struggling to win matches and have seven points from seven games and they have managed only one win and four draws alongwith 2 defeats.

The former glovesman who was presented with an MBE or Member of British Empire in 2012 for his service to football will take charge of his first game in the coming days.