Rhinos still on lookout for foreign striker
The Rhinos are s ll in the hunt for a foreign striker. Jelius A ng reiterated that it was the team’s top priority as he looked to finalise the 30-member squad for the Malaysian League 2018 campaign.
KOTA KINABALU: The Rhinos are still on the hunt for a foreign striker.
Jelius Ating reiterated that it was the team’s top priority as he looked to finalise the 30-member squad for the Malaysian League 2018 campaign.
In fact, Jelius revealed that there were only five more slots to be filled in the state senior squad, including the last of the four foreign imports quota.
“Our priority is to sign a foreign striker. Time may not be on our side but we are not in a rush.
“The new season is expected to kick off on February 2, so we have about one month (to prepare).
“We may even consider bringing back our former striker (Serbian Rodoljub Paunovic) if those who attend the trials do not impress us,” he said.
For the record, the three existing foreign imports with the Rhinos include the South Korean duo Lee Gil Hoon and Heo Jaenyeong as well as Croatian defender Igor Cerina, who has returned to training after a long injury lay-off.
Jelius went on to say that his other target was to strengthen the defence.
“I’m also looking for one or two centrebacks. Hardy (Charles Parsi) is among those who are under our radar but I’m still asking around,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jelius said 24 players have been signed for the new season and he expected Stanley Sulong to be the 25th member of the squad.
He said the young and talented wideman has been training with the team and given an indication that he had turned down an offer from the Prisons Department to pursue a career in football.
“Players such as Alto (Linus), Rusmanizam (Roseland), Amir (from Tawau), Rahman (Shah Marajeh) and young midfielder Mohd Aidil Safee too are currently training with the team but have yet to be offered contracts.
“Rahman, for example, is a player we don’t want to lose because of the talent that he is.
“He is not too far away from making a full recovery after going under the knife a couple of months ago, so we will work something out to keep him in the team.
“As for Aidil, he is very good technically but he needs to work on his strength. He is eligible to play for the junior squad so I’m still thinking about whether to register him with the senior team or with the juniors,” he said.
On his other plan for the team’s preparation, Jelius disclosed that they were planning to go on a friendly tour but nothing has been finalised yet.
He hoped to get at least five competitive matches, including three away from home before the season commences, he said.