KOLKATA: Mohammedan Sporting Club began their prepartaions for the forthcoming 2017/18 2nd Division League on Monday at Club ground. The Black Panthers have been in recess, following the conclusion of 2017 Calcutta Football League.

The inaugural training session of 2018 began with an introductory process between the players, coaching staff and club officials, followed by some physical drills under the watchful eyes of head coach Biswajit Bhattacharya, to evaluate fitness levels of players before starting full fledged training.

“We are happy to be back on the field,” said Coach Bhattacharya, who has his sight set on winning back the promotion in I-League and aims to get all the players in top shape before the 2nd Division League begins in the second week of March.

“It’s going to be a tough competititon. I need to prepare the players with that in mind so that they can play at their best all the way till the end,” the gaffer added.

“It won’t be easy because we have only just assembled a squad. But we have got a really good bunch of players that I am confident will transform into a strong unit.” he concluded.

The Black Panthers have opted for a relatively young side, and are looking at their young guns to deliver.

Meanwhile, the club have been able to retain the core of the young Indian contingent, who have the likes of Jiten Murmu, Tirthankar Sarkar, Prahlad Roy, Ankit Mukherjee, Kamran Farooque, Debasish Pradhan, Satyam Sarma and Amir Hossain in their ranks. The club has also secured the services of Trinidadian ace Wills Plaza, who will join the team later this month.

The club has currently signed a total of 21 players and are confident of completing the remaining signings over the course of the next couple of weeks.