Ahead of the upcoming season of the Indian Super League (ISL 2024-25), Punjab FC on Wednesday confirmed that they have parted ways with head coach Staikos Vergetis, assistant coach Dimitrios Kakkos, and strength and conditioning coach Nikolaos Tsagkatakis.
Vergetis leaves the club after two successful seasons, during which he helped the Shers earn promotion to the ISL from the I-League.
Joining the club ahead of the 2022-23 season, Vergetis came to India with rich experience, having previously worked in the home country Greece besides Cyprus for almost a decade.
Under his guidance, Punjab FC finished top of the I-League table in his first season, suffering just two defeats and winning 16 of their 22 games, which secured their promotion to the ISL. However, Punjab FC struggled initially in the ISL, going winless in their first 10 games. Vergetis managed to turn things around in the second half of the season, leading to some surprising results.
They were in contention for a playoff spot but lost to League winners Mohun Bagan Super Giant in their penultimate game. With a thumping win over East Bengal FC in their final league fixture, they ended the season in ninth place with 24 points from 22 games, just three points behind sixth-placed Chennaiyin FC, having secured six wins.