After poor Cup run, coach Nidzam told to take a rest

KUALA LUMPUR: Kedah’s coach Mohd Nidzam Adzha Yusof (pic) has been told to take a rest following his team’s poor run in the Malaysia Cup.

He has been replaced by his assistant Azzmi Abdul Aziz.

Kedah, who were the losing finalists in the Malaysia Cup last year, are in third spot in Group C with five points from four matches. They drew 0-0 with Kelantan and then were hammered 5-1 by Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT).

Kedah bounced back to beat MISC-MIFA 3-2 at home but only drew (2-2) against the same team last Sunday.

MISC-MIFA lead the group with seven points from four matches while JDT are third with six points.

Kedah have two remaining matches against JDT at the Stadium Darul Aman on Friday and will wrap up their fixtures against bottom-placed Kelantan in an away match on Sept 16.

The pressure is on Azzmi to guide his team to a place in the quarter-finals.

Azzmi said it will be a do-or-die situation for his team.

“We need to win both our two remaining matches and this is going to be really tough,” said Azzmi.

“We were outclassed 5-1 by JDT in an away match and they have the psychological advantage against us. It is going to take a mammoth task to beat the Super League champions.

The 43-year-old Azzmi added that he only had his first training session with the team yesterday.

“I really don’t know how many of the players are injured as I need to field a strong team against JDT, who will be going all out to collect full points to qualify for the quarter-finals.

“It’s going to be a real challenge for me to motivate my players in the absence of coach Nidzam. I only have three days to beef up my team’s spirit but I’m hoping for a miracle against JDT,” said Azzmi.