ISL club NorthEast United in an official statement on Monday announced that they have parted ways with Croatian head coach Robert Jarni. This decision was made after the Highlander’s match on February 10, 2020 (Monday) against Jamshedpur FC which ended in a 3-3 draw. This draw meant very little in the bigger scheme of things as the side from North of India were already out of contention from the play-offs spot before the match started. As per the press release by the club, the decision to part ways was taken after a mutual agreement between both parties. ISL 2019/20: FC Goa Appoint Former Indian International Clifford Miranda as Interim Manager.

The former Real Madrid and Juventus player took charge of the Indian Super League side at the start of the season but has now parted ways. The Croatian’s time in India started on a positive note as the Highlanders were unbeaten in their first six games of the season but lost their way since then, losing six of the following nine games. The club mentioned in the release that ‘Assistant Coach Khalid Jamil will take over as the interim coach for the time being before the club finds a suitable replacement.’

See Official Announcement

Injuries to several key players, mainly to star striker and former Ghana International Asamoah Gyan has hampered NorthEast United’s season as they find themselves in the ninth place on the points table. The Highlanders are also the lowest-scoring team in the competition managing 12 goals so far with just reaching the double-figure mark in their last match.

Interim manager Khalid Jamil will have a big task in front of him as with playoff spots out of reach he will look to give young players a chance – the same as his predecessor – and build a better squad for next season. Lalengmawia and Ninthoinganba Meetei were the players who benefitted under Jarni’s reign and will be key for Jamil as well.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 11, 2020 01:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).