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For defending champions ATK, Indian Super League – Season 4 has been a dismal campaign which got even worse as ahead of their final league match interim head coach Ashley Westwood resigned with Irish legend Robbie Keane becoming player manager for the final game against NorthEast United FC tomorrow, March 4.
ATK have been the most successful franchise since the creating of the Indian Super League in 2014 by winning the ISL trophy twice in 2014 and 2016, while making the semifinals in ISL-2 in 2015. Therefore ISL-4 marks the first-time that the team from the City of Joy have not made at least the semifinals.
Ashley Westwood, who at the beginning of the season had been signed as Technical Director for his success with Bengaluru FC, had taken over from former England, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur legend Teddy Sheringham on January 20 with ATK on 12 points from 10 matches. But under Westwood, ATK would go on to lose six matches and only draw one against the Kerala Blasters.
After all the success in the first three season, ATK decided to part ways with Atletico de Madrid and go it on their own by going fully English after having tasted success the Spanish way. Now we know that the idea and concept backfired.
With Ashley Westwood stepping down with one match to go and the rule being that ISL franchises need to have a foreign coach in-charge, the management requested and then appointed Irish legend Robbie Keane as player manager for their final game of a campaign which they would surely like to forget.
