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It has become a routine with the Mohun Bagan club management to play with the career and reputation of coaches. The resignation of Santosh Kashyap owing to the team’s poor show since the beginning of the season only highlighted the management’s skewed thinking of making the coach a scapegoat.
As thousands of loyal supporters of the century-old institution bemoan the steady decline of the club’s fortune over a period of time, especially the past two seasons, the club management has conveniently made it a point to put the blame on the coach to divert the attention.
Since 2010, seven coaches have come and gone but the club’s cupboard remained without a trophy. The club’s reputation, on and off the field, has hit an all-time low with no remedial measure or initiative in sight.
No self respecting coach will ever step into the club’s premises if this sort of treatment continues. Money is indeed a major factor in a coach agreeing to work. But getting a reputed one to take up the reins will become all the more tough if the hire and fire policy is pursued beyond a certain point.
Accountability
Winning and losing is very much part of any sport. The real challenge lies in overcoming the streak of losses and returning to winning ways. In this journey, coaches and the players are not the only protagonists. The entire officialdom has a major role to play in running a successful club.
Accountability is one path no club official is willing to tread. Therein lies the answer to all the ills of the club. If the coach is responsible for the debacle the club suffers, he is either asked to quit or sacked ruthlessly.
At the same time, there is no punishment for the official or a group of officials who employ the coach. They are the ones who consider the credentials of the coach before hiring him.
The club is also focusing on issues that have no direct bearing on club’s health. There is an urgent need to rectify the imbalance in the composition of the football team. Just possessing two proven foreign strikers is not going to win matches. And, if by any chance, the two develop ego issues, it is going to be all the more difficult to get the team produce results.
The success of current I-League champion Dempo SC is attributed to its coach Armando Colaco who is at the helm for more than a decade now.
Mohun Bagan’s first priority is not only to hire a reputed coach but to give him enough space and time to rebuild the side to a winning combination.
An institution is always greater than an individual. The earlier this adage is understood, the better for the club and its future.
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