Sathianathan blames fatigue as reason for slump

PETALING JAYA: Felda United coach B. Sathianathan has the answer for his side’s perceived slump in form.

The Fighters were held to a 1-1 draw by Felcra in their Premier League match on Monday but were knocked out by Perak State Development Corporation (PKNP) on Friday in the FA Cup quarter-finals on away goal rule after the match ended 2-2 on aggregate.

Sathianathan said his side’s hectic schedule is taking a toll on his players.

“I’m not worried over the team’s performance because I know that the players are fatigued after playing five matches in 17 days,” said the former national team coach yesterday.

“We don’t have a big squad. On top of that, we have several seasoned players and some youngsters, so it’s quite hard to rotate the players.

“You can’t wear out the older players by playing without a break and at the same time the younger players are still inexperienced.”

However, Sathia is satisfied with his players’ performance and they are still on track to achieving their target of gaining promotion to the Super League.

“We are still unbeaten in the Premier League, which is good, but our main target is to get promoted to Super League at the end of the season,” said the 59-year old coach.

“I planned to give the youngsters more playing time but it will be done gradually.

“You can’t push the players too fast into the deep end.”