Trevor Morgan was on the verge of signing for an African club when a call came from Kerala Blasters FC. He didn’t think twice before opting to return to India and signed on the dotted line for the Hero Indian Super League club, jointly owned by Sachin Tendulkar.East Bengal’s most successful foreign coach is familiar with his new wards, having managed some of them during his three-year stint with the red & golds in Kolkata and some when he conducted a training camp for about 40 ISL-contracted players in Mumbai last year.The England native settled in Perth does not see any difference between the challenge of managing a team in Kolkata or his new base at Kochi: “There won’t be any difference, it’s the same, be it Kolkata, Kerala or Mumbai. We need to make sure that supporters are happy, by winning as many games as we can.”Morgan, who is famous for his man management skills, knows all about the passion of the Kerala crowds, having witnessed the Santosh Trophy in God’s own country in 2013. He wants to win back the crowds by playing entertaining football. “People in Kerala love football. It’s up to us to make those people come out and watch us play. We need to make sure that the supporters are happy with our performances,” he stated.“We need to make sure that supporters are happy, by winning as many games as we can.”Trevor Morgan, Kerala Blasters FCAtletico de Kolkata assistant coach and former Mohun Bagan legend Jose Ramirez Barreto expressed similar sentiments about Kerala. “The crowds were amazing during the Federation Cup (2014). About 25,000 fans turned up for the matches in Manjeri. It shows that people are passionate about football,” he observed.Popular clubs like Kerala Police, FC Kochin and Viva Kerala used to draw huge crowds to their home matches but when they folded up, Kerala had no big team to support. Kerala Blasters hope to fill in this void and revive football in the state.Commenting on his player picks during the domestic player draft and his future plans, Morgan said, “You have to play five Indians on the pitch, and I am happy with the domestic players that we got. Now we need to get the right foreign players to strike the balance. We have got the defensive players and we will try to get more attacking players from the foreign pool.”He dispelled notions that Sushanth Matthew and C S Sabeeth were picked because of their ethnicity instead of their utility. “It’s good that Kerala people can associate themselves with Sushanth and Sabeeth. First and foremost they are in the team because they deserve to be there,” he affirmed.
