ISL 2017: Ex-Liverpool star David James front-runner to replace Rene Meulensteen as Kerala Blasters coach
Kerala Blasters are already said to have found a ready replacement for head coach Rene Meulensteen, who parted ways with the club on Tuesday. And the man who is most likely to take over is none other than former Blasters player-manager David James.
After a string of poor results, Meulensteen decided to step down as the head coach of Kerala, leaving the position open for assistant coach Thangboi Singto to take charge.
However, a club official confirmed to Sportskeeda that they are indeed in advanced talks with the former Liverpool goalkeeper to take over the reins at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi once again, and an announcement on this matter could soon be expected.
While there have been some rumors doing the rounds that James has already reached Kochi, there has been no confirmation on that as of yet. However 47-year-old is on a tour of Asia and had landed in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
It is not clear as of yet, whether he is going to take a detour to Kochi after these recent developments.
James, an accomplished English goalkeeper who plied his trade for top Premier League clubs like Liverpool, was instrumental in Blasters’ success in the inaugural ISL season. He led them both on and off the pitch as the yellow brigade made it to the final only to lose the high-intensity encounter to Atletico de Kolkata.
If the Blasters management does end up signing the Englishman for the rest of the season, he will have to be up for a tough task as his former teammates are lying eighth on the table with seven points from seven games. They have managed just one win, four draws, and two defeats.
However, James already has an idea about Indian football and is also well accustomed to some high profile foreigners of the team. This will hold him in good stead to take over the coaching baton.