ISL 2017/18: Ashley Westwood steps down as ATK manager

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Ashley Westwood

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Defending champions ATK are down and out in the ongoing ISL season after they failed to qualify for the top four spots on the league table for the first time in the history of the tournament.

The likes of assistant manager Bastab Roy or former Mohun Bagan boss and current ATK ead of youth development Sanjoy Sen are expected to take charge of the ATK dugout against NorthEast United FC, at the Salt Lake Stadium, on Sunday.

Westwood had been initially signed by ATK as a technical director of the club. However, a string of poor results under former manager Teddy Sheringham saw the ex-Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur star being sacked, earlier this year. Since then, Westwood had taken charge of the dugout.

The results, though, did not improve. In the seven matches that ATK played under Westwood, the Kolkata outfit failed to register even a single win. The only result that they managed to get under the Englishman was a 2-2 draw against fellow strugglers Kerala Blasters.

The expectations on ATK were high ahead of the season, not only because they went in as the defending champions, but also because they had made a number of marquee signings, in the form of Robbie Keane, Tom Thorpe, Ryan Taylor, Jayesh Rane, Ashutosh Mehta, and many more.

However, injuries to some of their top stars, especially Keane, had deflated the Kolkata outfit, and the results kept on deteriorating.

Now that they have been ruled out of the top four spots on the ISL table, ATK will be looking forward to the upcoming Super League. However, as they are likely to end up in the bottom four spots on the table, they would have to play the qualifiers, to enter the Round of 16 stage of the tournament.

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