ISL 2017/18: ATK appoint Robbie Keane as player-manager after Ashley Westwood's resignation
After former manager Ashley Westwood announced that he had stepped down from his post, ATK have confirmed that their captain and star striker Robbie Keane will take over as the player-manager at the Kolkata outfit.
Earlier in the day, the club had announced that Westwood had decided to step down from his position after he failed to check the string of poor results that saw the Kolkata outfit fail to make the cut for the semifinals. Previously, Teddy Sheringham, who was appointed as the manager before the start of the season, had been sacked due to poor performances as well.
With this, Keane becomes the third manager to have been appointed by ATK this season. The club had had only two other managers in the previous three seasons.
ATK failed to register a single win with Westwood as their manager. In the seven matches where he was in charge of the dugout, Westwood had failed to register a single win. The only point that ATK picked up under him was a 2-2 draw against Kerala Blasters.
Keane has shown good form for the Kolkata outfit, but his season has been marred by injuries so far. This will be Keane's first stint as a manager.
ATK reached a new low this season, as they failed to make the cut for the semifinals for the first time in the history of the ISL. They are currently languishing at the eighth spot on the table and will be looking to finish their league campaign on a high with a win against bottom club NorthEast United FC.
However, Keane does have the Super Cup to look forward to, where the Kolkata outfit will have to play in the qualifiers, as they have finished in the bottom four spots in the league. It will be interesting to see how this former Tottenham Hotspur legend takes to a managerial role.