SC East Bengal on Saturday appointed Spaniard Mario Rivera as their head coach for the remainder of the ISL VIII season. SC East Bengal parted ways with Jose Manuel Diaz following a string of poor shows.

That was on December 28, midway into the season, after the team’s eight-match winless streak — four losses and four draws — and former India international Rennedy Singh was given charge as interim head coach.

For Rivera, it is a homecoming as he had guided East Bengal to a second-place finish in the I-League two seasons back. He was assistant to former East Bengal coach Alejandro Menendez for 32 games in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 I-League seasons before he was asked to take over the reins.

“We are happy to appoint him as our head coach. Mario has been part of East Bengal previously and his experience in Indian football will be beneficial to the team for the rest of the season,” said SC East Bengal CEO Shivaji Samaddar.

Rivera, a Uefa Pro Licence holder, will undergo a mandatory 11-day quarantine period as per ISL rules and will take charge of the team thereafter.

SC East Bengal remain at the bottom of the 11-team Indian Super League table with just four points.

They will next take on Bengaluru FC on Tuesday.