Selangor coach Mehmet Durakovic (left) instructing Robert Richard Cornthwaite during the training session at Shah Alam stadium yesterday.(11/12/2015/S.S.KANESAN/The Star)
PETALING JAYA: Selangor have made a U-turn, deciding to re-sign Australian centreback Robert Cornthwaite for the M-League next season.
Cornthwaite, who helped the Red Giants win a record 33rd Malaysia Cup last Saturday, was surprisingly axed by the Selangor Football Association (SFA) on Wednesday.
Selangor team manager Amirudin Shari clarified that there was a miscommunication which led to the 30-year-old Cornthwaite being dropped from the team.
“I take the blame. There was a miscommunication between Cornthwaite and me and I’m responsible for it. But it’s all sorted out now and he’s staying with us next season,” said Amirudin.
With Cornthwaite’s place settled, attention is now on head coach Mehmet Durakovic’s tenure in the Super League team.
Speculations are rife that the Australian may get the boot despite leading Selangor to second place in the Super League and triumph in the Malaysia Cup.
Former Selangor great Zainal Abidin Hassan is tipped to take charge and the rumours gained traction following his resignation as Pahang coach.
Amirudin remained non-committal about Durakovic’s future.
He said: “Durakovic’s still our head coach as he still has a year left in his contract with us. But we are in talks with a few coaches who are interested to join us.
“We will only make the announcement on the new foreign players and the head coach next week.”
Amirudin admitted that expectations would be higher on Selangor next season after the Malaysia Cup success.
“And we will also be involved in the AFC Cup next season. It’s going to be a challenging season for us.”
Amirudin also announced the decision to retain 15 players from the current team for next year’s campaign.
“We have also strengthened the squad by signing four Pahang players – midfielder Hafiz Kamal, winger R. Gopinathan, goalkeeper Khairul Azhan Khalid and defender Razman Roslan.
“We have retained 60% of the players from this season for next year. It was a hard decision to make because all the players worked hard to help us win the Malaysia Cup.
“But we are looking at a better show next season. We are still looking for a few more players to beef up the team,” said Amirudin.
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