Kelantan coach Bojan Hodak (right) is confident that his team will be prepared to defend their Malaysia Cup title. With him is team captain Mohd Badhri Radzi.
PETALING JAYA: Kelantan coach Bojan Hodak says his side will be ready when the whistle blows for the start of their Malaysia Cup Group C campaign against Pahang at the Darul Makmur Stadium in Kuantan on Tuesday.
The Red Warriors were edged 1-0 by Armed Forces in a friendly in Kota Baru last Wednesday despite the return of four players from national team duty.
Hodak, however, is not too worried about the friendly setback.
“I wanted to assess my players’ condition after they returned from national duty and I’m happy with their performance despite the loss to Armed Forces,” said the Croatian, who guided Kelantan to the M-League treble last season.
“It was a 50-50 match and I think we created more chances but Forces managed to sneak in the winner. It was a good runout for my boys after the Hari Raya break and it showed that their fitness has not dropped too much.”
The 42-year-old coach said that his players’ appetite for success had been whetted by the successful defence of the FA Cup in June. Kelantan beat a star-studded Johor Darul Takzim (JDT)1-0.
Hodak also revealed that his team were hit by a flu bug “but we will be at full strength for the trip to Kuantan”.
“It won’t be easy playing Pahang at their homeground but I know my players’ abilities and they’ll be ready for it,” said the former UPB-MyTeam coach.
“We won the treble last season and retained the FA Cup this season ... but we’re still hungry for success. You can’t question the players’ drive and ambition ... they always play to win.
“On a good day, my team can beat any side in Malaysia. If you remember, we dominated JDT to win the FA Cup and I’m confident we can do the same in the Malaysia Cup.”
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