Doe aborts Indonesia plans after call from Dollah

striker Francis Doe had his bags packed for Indonesia when he received an offer from coach Dollah Salleh to play for Pahang in the ongoing MLeague.

The 33-year-old immediately agreed to the deal and made his debut against Kelantan in a Super League match on Feb 10. It took him only 12 minutes to score his first goal of the season in the 3-0 win in Kuantan.

“I had several offers before Pahang but I declined them due to contract terms. I was ready to fly to Indonesia and had already informed my family about it,” said Doe.

“However, Dollah came with an offer and I immediately took it. It is not all about the money. I joined Pahang because Dollah is a nice person.

“Furthermore, Pahang are a big team and they have a good mix of seniors and youngsters for the current season.”

Doe, who has moved to Kuantan with his wife and three children, said: “I am not 100 per cent fit yet but I am getting there as we have been training twice a day.

“I hope to regain my full fitness when we face my former club, Selangor in Cheras on Saturday.

“I am comfortable with my new team and I hope to score when we play Selangor.”

Doe previously played for Terengganu, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Felda United and Selangor.

Dollah disclosed that Doe was only 65 per cent fit when he joined Pahang.

“However, Doe still managed to play for 80 minutes against Kelantan. I was worried that he would not be able to sustain the pace against Kelantan and I had told him to signal the bench if he wanted to be substituted.

“Doe is a true professional. He did his best and scored, which was also the team’s first goal of the season,”said Dollah.