Maniam: Selangor have quality to exceed target

Experience on his side: P. Maniam was appointed as Selangor’s head coach twice before when K. Devan resigned in 2011 and Irfan Bakti in 2013.

PETALING JAYA: Beat the drop.

That’s the message from the cash-strapped and strife-torn Football Association of Selangor (FAS) to newly-appointed coach P. Maniam for the new season.

The two-time Super League champions have already lost seven key players – including top striker Ahmad Hazwan Bakri, captain Mohd Shahrom Kalam and midfielder Mohd Hafiz Kamal – to other teams. And the 33-time Malaysia Cup champions have yet to sign any foreign players with the Super League scheduled to start on Jan 21.

To save costs, the Red Giants have promoted eight Under-21 players from their President’s Cup team.

Maniam, however, is not worried with the task at hand.

“The management has set a target for me – that’s to avoid relegation. But I think we have the quality to do better than that. We don’t have stars, but we can rely on the youngsters to get the job done.

“We still have experienced seniors like S. Veenod, Adam Nor Azlin, Mohd Razman Roslan and Mohd Bunyamin Umar to guide the youngsters. We also have two quality goalkeepers in Khairul Azhan Khalid and Norazlan Razali.

“We’re not in a bad situation, so I want the team to finish as high as possible in the league,” said Maniam, who steered Selangor to the President’s Cup title in 2008.

He also added that the players should not worry about Selangor’s off-field problems.

“The players’ job is to work hard in training and get the results.

“It’s that simple,” said Maniam, who was appointed as Selangor’s head coach twice when K. Devan resigned in 2011 and Irfan Bakti in 2013.

The Red Giants did not enjoy a fruitful outing last season. Zainal Abidin Hassan started the season but was sacked midway through and former defender K. Gunalan was brought in as caretaker coach.

They finished fifth in the Super League and crashed out of the FA Cup semi-finals and the group stage of the AFC Cup. The only bright spot was reaching the Malaysia Cup final only to lose to Kedah in a penalty shootout.

Selangor’s last success in Malaysian football was the 2015 Malaysia Cup triumph.