Buck up or face the music, PKNP coach tells his players
PETALING JAYA: Shape up or ship out. Perak State Development Corporation (PKNP) coach Abu Bakar Fadzim has demanded an improved performance from his team in their Super League match against Kedah at the State Stadium in Batu Kawan today.
The debutants started their campaign with a 1-0 win over Negri Sembilan on Feb 3 but were quickly brought down to earth by four-time Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) who handed them a 3-0 whipping on Tuesday.
Abu Bakar said he expected his centrebacks Lyuben Nikolov of Bulgaria and Latvia’s Ritus Krjauklis to dish out a better performance.
The 46-year-old coach also hinted at changing his import players if they don’t improve during the M-League second transfer window from May 14-June 18.
“I’ll keep the same team if they are winning and reshuffle if they lose. We lost the last game so I need to change the players for this match. This rotation gives all the players a chance to play,” said Abu Bakar yesterday.
“Our imports did well against Negri but they were average in the loss to JDT. I need the import players to do better than the local players. I don’t mind my team losing but I expect a good performance from them.”
Abu Bakar warned his side not to take Kedah lightly. The Red Eagles are still winless after suffering defeats to JDT (1-2) on Feb 3 and Perak (1-3) on Wednesday.
Kedah will be without their suspended midfield maestro Liridon Krasniqi but are expected to field their newly-signed Indonesian winger Andik Vermansyah.
PKNP’s injured striker Shahrel Fikri Fauzi, who is recovering from an ankle injury, is expected to finally make his debut this season.
“Shahrel has recovered from his injury but he’s not ready to play a full game, so we’ll monitor his situation.
“If he feels comfortable to play, we might give him 10 or 20 minutes,” said Abu Bakar.
“Kedah won’t have Liridon but they are still a top team and they have other good players including their new signing Andik.
“It will be the same like JDT, we can’t lose focus in this match and every mistake can be costly.”