Jelius pumped up to lead Rhinos out of the doldrums

PETALING JAYA: Sabah new manager Jelius Ating aims to work his magic again to revive the Rhinos after their disappointing 2020 campaign.

Jelius was then the coach when he guided them to the 2019 Premier League title but had to serve as assistant coach to Indonesian Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto in the Super League because he did not possess a Pro A Licence.

As a former player with Sabah, Jelius has an idea on what needs to be done.

“I need to thank the management for giving me this opportunity as I will have a bigger role to play now, ” said the former defender.

“I want the players to rediscover their focus and improve their attitude for the new season. Based on my assessment, their performance have dropped, ” said Jelius.

“There’s no point if they have good technique and talent if their mentality and focus on the pitch is not there. This team can do so much more if we can fix these.”

He added that the imports – South Korean defender Park Tae-soo, midfielders Petrus Shitembi of Namibia and Thailand’s Dennis Buschening, strikers Guy Gnabouyou of France and Serbian Rodoljub Paunovic – had failed to lift the team.

“We will look for better options because good imports can help the team perform better. Right now, the quality of the locals are almost the same.

“My hope is Sabah would be more competitive and make the top five next season.”

The Rhinos finished 10th in the 12-team standings with nine points from 11 matches.