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New Year means new hopes and promises of doing better and it couldn’t have come at a better time for NorthEast United FC, as the team has had one of its worst starts in the ISL.
The Highlanders are in dire need of turning their fortunes around and seem to be eyeing a former I-League manager as a possible replacement for their former head coach Joao De Deus, who was sacked earlier this week.
Now, the NEUFC management is said to be eyeing a high-profile former I-League coach as a possible replacement for De Deus, according to sources.
The club wasn’t ready to formally announce the name of the said coach as some official paperwork needed to be sorted out before the coach could be announced.
However, it has been learnt that former East Bengal head coach Trevor James Morgan could be one of the coaches in the running to land the top job in Guwahati. Given his track record in India, Morgan is said to be a strong contender, according to sources.
Morgan already has a lot of experience in India in the I-League and ISL, and has led teams to runners-up finishes in both the leagues with East Bengal and Kerala Blasters (assistant coach), respectively.
Another thing that weighs in favour of Morgan is his man management skills which has been praised by players of both East Bengal and Kerala Blasters. To add to that, he is a team player and has the ability to work with or under the technical guidance of others as was the case in Kerala Blasters where he worked with the likes of David James and Terry Phelan.
This would especially come in handy, as the Highlanders have already appointed former Chelsea manager Avram Grant as their technical advisor. The Israeli, who had taken Chelsea to the Champions League final in the 2007/08 season, was seen taking a hands-on approach during the club's training session on the eve of their first match under his tenure, against FC Goa.
There seemed to be a dearth of coaching staff in NorthEast United at the moment as Deus' whole staff has been fired. Goalkeeping coach Joseph Siddi is currently the interim head coach of the side. As Grant is here as the technical advisor, he hasn’t brought his entourage with him to NEUFC, which leaves the team in dire need of a head coach.
