Kolkata: ATK’s interim head coach Ashley Westwood has stepped down from his role, the Kolkata based franchise confirmed on Friday.
Assistant coach Bastob Roy and marquee signing Robbie Keane are expected to lead the pack next.
It came before ATK’s match against NorthEast United on Sunday, which also happens to be their final game in the Indian Super League (ISL) this season and it also meant that Roy and Keane together will be third to take charge of the franchise in four months time.
The season began on November 2017 and by the time ATK play their final match, Teddy Sheringham and Ashley Westwood would have already left and Robbie Keane will make his coaching debut, which comes as quite surprising for a team that had just two coaches in three fulls seasons.
2014 was the first time ISL hit the Indian football scenario and ATK won the inaugural season under Antonio Lopez Habas. He led them in 2015 too, the second of the three years that the franchise functioned with help from Spanish giants Atletico Madrid. Habas changed for Pune in 2016 and ATK with the help from ATM brought Jose Molina, who led them to another title — their second in three years.
But as ties broke loose and ATM departed, things for ATK seemed to have gone all southwards. They are currently ninth and have just 13 points from 17 games.
Westwood who joined ATK as it’s team technical director took charge after Sheringham left, but failed to win a single game, with the 2-2 draw against Kerala Blasters at home his best result in seven matches — six of which were defeats.
The former Bengaluru FC coach who led ‘The Blues’ to two I-League titles and a Federation Cup, lost 1-5 to Goa in his final match as an interim-coach.