Bagan coach steps down after 55 days

Satyajit Chatterjee stepped down as Mohun Bagan coach on Tuesday 55 days after replacing Karim Bencherifa in a bizarre move then explained by the club as “change for change's sake.”

Satyajit Chatterjee stepped down as Mohun Bagan coach on Tuesday 55 days after replacing Karim Bencherifa in a bizarre move then explained by the club as “change for change's sake.”

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Till late on Tuesday, there was no word on who would replace him. A Mohun Bagan official even said Chatterjee's resignation hadn't been accepted. Mohun Bagan next play Salgaocar, now coached by Bencherifa, in I-League 3 here on April 10.

Chatterjee stepped down after a 2-2 draw, riding a contentious penalty, against Railway FC in a Kolkata league game at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan. Mohun Bagan are still unbeaten and lead the local league standings with 32 points from 12 games.

This is the 11th time since Subroto Bhattacharya in April 2003 that a Mohun Bagan coach has resigned or been sacked. “I take full moral responsibility for the team's failures and hence my decision,” said Chatterjee, a former international who played 15 seasons with Mohun Bagan.

“I couldn't wait till the day somebody came up and blamed me for spoiling Mohun Bagan's chances. I couldn't see Mohun Bagan lose like this,” he said.