Elephants go about their business without the hullabaloo

PETALING JAYA: Pahang seem to be coy about their preparations for the new season, but coach Dollah Salleh assures that they have been far from quiet.

The Elephants, who have yet to announce any new signings, have been preparing hard in the pre-season, according to Dollah.

“You guys think we are quiet, but that is not the case, ” he said.

“Pre-season preparations are going full-swing. The youngsters from the President Cup are beginning to grasp our style of play.

“Also, we still have players like Matt (Matthew Davies), Mo (Mohamadou Sumareh) and Nor Azam (Azih) in the team. So, there is no reason to be worried, ” he said.

Their failure to win any silverware last year saw them releasing imports Safuwan Baharudin, Saddil Ramdani, Lazarus Kaimbi, Dickson Nwakaeme, keeping only Herold Goulon.

Veteran striker Norshahrul Idlan Talaha has also been released along with M. Kogileswaran Raj, A. Solomon, Zubir Azmi, Afif Amiruddin, Wan Zaharulnizam Wan Zakaria, Remezey Che Ros and Wafieyuddin Shamsudin.

For the new season, Dollah will be working with a few President Cuppers and is looking to sign two foreigners.

Dollah revealed that they are set to sign a Brazilian striker and Filipino midfielder. It is believed that the Filipino is Adam Reed, who played for Thai club Chainat Hornbill last season.

“The two players joined us for training yesterday. We will look to wrap up the squad by next week. For the two foreign spots, we will assess a few more players before making a decision.

“Once we have finalised our squad, then we will announce our target for the new season.”

The team have also signed veteran goalkeeper Sharbinee Allawee from Kuala Lumpur and winger R. Gopinathan from Melaka.

Gopinathan’s return has excited the fans, as he turned out for the team from 2010 to 2015 and scored 25 goals.