Foreign imports selec on con nues
Sabah resume its trials for foreign imports today as Jelius A ng hopes to make a decision by June 2 on which players to pick to join the Premier League squad.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah resume its trials for foreign imports today as Jelius Ating hopes to make a decision by June 2 on which players to pick to join the Premier League squad.
It is said that some 10 candidates are under the radar and Jelius hopes there are two among them who are good enough to join the two Koreans who put pen to paper with the State FA, last week.
“There are only two weeks left before the transfer window closes. If possible I want to finalise the selection of players by next week so that there is time to make all the necessary arrangements including signing of contracts and completing the international transfer certificates.
“The sooner we get this done, the better so that we have more time to focus on training. But it does not mean we will make decisions in haste because as I said before, we only want players who are best suited to our needs,” he said when met here yesterday.
Jelius said the urgency lays at the front of the field where the team is in dire need of good strikers. However, Jelius also wants to strengthen the defensive line citing a poor record of goals conceded.
“We want two more players up front if there are any good ones, but at the same time I am also contemplating to go with just one striker and maybe take a good midfielder and one solid defender. We will see how it goes with the quality of players we expect to arrive,” he said.
If there are no suitable candidates, Jelius said they would look at snatching foreign imports from other teams in the M-League, especially those who have expressed interest to come to Sabah.
“There are foreign imports from other teams (in the MLeague) who are keen to don Sabah colours and we know their abilities but we will only look at this as a last resort if the players we have on trial (beginning today) fail to meet expectations,” he said.
According to Jelius, Sabah must continue to aim for a higher finish in the standings although the main objective is to maintain their status as a Premier League squad.
“Because if we can form a strong squad, we will not start from the bottom again next season...we do not have to scramble again like now where we are looking for good players.
“That means our efforts to strengthen the squad are not only for this season but also for the next,” he said.
Jelius also said that this was a good time for Sabah to search for players where competition for talent is less rife with other teams already in the mix.
Currently, the state senior squad is strengthened by the presence of Korean imports Lee Gi Hoon (striker) and Heo Jaenyong (midfield/defender). The two signed with Sabah FA last week following the departure of Frenchmen Jonathan Behe and Sofiane Choubani who were dropped.
Two other players, Japanese midfielder Masaya Jitozono and Croatian defender Igor Cerina are said to also make their way out, leaving vacant slots for Sabah's foreign import quota.
Masaya has been less than impressive in his recent outings with the team while Igor is heading out due to injury which is seeing him benched for the rest of the season. Igor however, still has a contract with Safa until season's end.
On the team's target, Jelius said he will try to win as many matches in the nine that are remaining for the squad this season. He hoped it would help to lift the team higher in the standings.
“The big problem is teams that are in the top four are way ahead of us in terms of points. But we will try to win as many matches as possible and we will see where we end up in the standings.
“If we can perform well and get good results from our remaining matches then maybe we can climb the rungs by a few spots but I believe it is more realistic for us to aim higher next season,” he said.
Sabah are currently ninth in the 12-team standings on 11 points. They won three matches, drew twice and lost eight games.
Eight teams above Sabah are Negeri Sembilan on 29 points, followed by Terengganu on 27, Kuala Lumpur (26), Perak PKNP FC (25), UiTM FC (21), JDT II (20), PDRM (20) and Kuantan FA (13).
The three teams below them are MISC-MIFA (six points), Perlis (six points) and ATM FA (five).
Sabah will resume their league challenge against Police in an away match on June 30.