Santosh Kashyap to take over as Salgaocar move on from Malky Thomson after four losses

SALGAOCAR FC have parted ways with their Scottish head coach Malky Thomson after they suffer defeats in four out of four matches at the very outset of their I-League 2015-16 campaign. Former Royal Wahingdoh head coach Santosh Kashyap has been appointed as his successor as the club struggles to recover from a serious threat of relegation.

Malky Thomson conducted yesterday's practice session and met with the board later in the evening, where the decision was taken.

This was Thomson's first ever stint as a head coach. He got into coaching at the age of 25, after retiring as a player after spending a considerable time in the reserves of Scottish premiership club Aberdeen FC. After working as a youth coach in clubs like Celtic and Rangers, he joined the coaching staff of Birmingham City and later worked as an assistant manager at Blackpool FC.

But his managerial debut did not go well as Salgaocar FC lost all their I-League matches under him. They lost the momentum as they came up against Bengaluru FC and Mohun Bagan, two of the heavyweights in the league, and their woes continued when they went up against Mumbai FC and Shillong Lajong away from home.

The debacle came mostly due to a defensive failure. While their forward line was able to somewhat hold up to the task - with Scottish striker Darryl Duffy netting in 2 goals - the Salgaocar defence conceded 9 goals in those 4 matches, and that's the reason they are at the bottom of the table right now.

This is where Santosh Kashyap can come really handy for the club that once was a powerhouse in Indian football. The former Mohun Bagan and Rangdajied United coach is known for his ability to take relatively raw squads play organized football. Under him, Royal Wahingdoh finished 3rd in the league last season with a relatively young team. Salgaocar also signed a few Wahingdoh players after the Shillong-based club decided to withdraw from the I-League, and the familiarity will help the new coach out.

Salgaocar play newly-promoted side Aizawl FC at home tomorrow, and this is as good a chance to turn things around as they are going to get in this shortened I-League season.