Calcutta: A day after making the sensational statement that he was hoping to play for Mohun Bagan next season, Mike Okoro skipped East Bengal’s practice session at Howrah Stadium on Wednesday.

An East Bengal official said the striker was running a “slight temperature”, and had promised to be present at Thursday’s workout.

Okoro’s statement had created a ripple of discontentment among the club’s rank and file. No one was willing to go on record, but an influential member of the team felt the Nigerian striker had got the timing wrong. “It was unfair and unprofessional on Okoro’s part to have made such a comment at this juncture of the National League,” the player said.

It is learnt that the club’s course of action ? disciplinary or otherwise ? will be decided at a meeting with the striker soon. If Okoro is willing to take back his statement, he may be let off with a token punishment. As of now, the club has no plans to gag the players.

Coach Philippe de Ridder was not reading too much into Okoro’s statement. “An individual cannot be seen as bigger than the team. To me, the performance of the team comes first and that will always get top priority,” the Belgian coach said after practice on Wednesday.

“I don’t wish to read much into an individual’s opinion. There are tough times ahead and it’s better to concentrate on the task at hand,” Ridder said.

Mohun Bagan officials are keeping fingers crossed. “We don’t want to interfere right now? The team is going through a good phase and we don’t wish to disturb the spirit. We are, however, keeping a close watch on the state of affairs,” a club official said.