Alarmed with the team’s poor showing over a long period of time, the club management has persuaded the expert trainer to accompany the players in the two remaining matches of the ongoing national league. Suresh is also the trainer of the senior Indian football team.

In the remaining matches, East Bengal will leave for Goa on January 3 where they will be up against stalwarts Sporting Clube de Goa on January 5. The red-and-gold brigade’s concluding match of the I-League will be the one against Salgaocar, to be played on January 8.

In fact, Suresh has already begun to act on the club’s initiative to give more stress on the players’ fitness front. And the physical trainer of the national team is already on he job, carrying out a new rehabilitation method and recovery training programme over the past couple of days. Interestingly, Suresh’s new work ethic also includes monitoring the players’ everyday lifestyles.

The experienced trainer, who has been working at Kolkata’s Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre for quite a long time now, has suggested that the players, particularly seniors like Alvito d’Cunha, M Suresh and Syed Rahim Nabi, should take some much needed rest at home, after going through everyday training drills and routine stretching exercises and massage programmes.

Speaking to The Indian Express, trainer Suresh said: “The key objective behind this rehabilitation and recovery programme is to increase concentration levels in future assignments. I have started it already, and the players are showing enough enthusiasm. I am optimistic that the team will come out of its present situation and bounce back.”