Yee Fatt in a dilemma over players’ exodus and replacements

Staying put: Captain Leandro Santos (front) is one of the imports who will not be leaving Perak.

PETALING JAYA: Chong Yee Fatt is facing the biggest challenge of his coaching career.

Yee Fatt, who took over from Mehmet Durakovic at Perak this season, has seen several key players exiting the embattled club.

Perak are mired in financial problems and it is learnt that the players have not been paid for over two months.

And the latest player that is rumoured to leave is Singapore international Shakir Hamzah.

The Seladang have already lost four players with Guilherme De Paula and Shahrul Saad heading south to champions Johor Darul Ta’zim while J. Partiban and D. Kenny Pallraj have joined Kuala Lumpur.

And the worst is not over yet as leftback Nazirul Naim left the team yesterday while rightback Amirul Azhan Aznan, goalkeeper Hafizul Hakim and midfielder Firdaus Saiyadi are also mulling a move.Yee Fatt revealed that he had a meeting with some key players to convince them that they still have a future with Perak.

“I will be honest, the situation we are in right now is a bit messy. Players are leaving and we must wait until the transfer window deadline to see the state of our squad.

“It’s a blow to lose some of the key players but we have to move on, ” said Yee Fatt.

“I hope we have convinced them to stay and help the club. But at the end of the day, the decision is in their hands.”

Yee Fatt also revealed that they are facing difficulty signing new players.

“We have tried but they have shied away because of the situation we are in.

“Time is certainly not on our side as the league will resume in early July. Right now, we will draft some of the Perak II players... we just have to rely on what we have.”

Perak also face the prospect of being relegated for the first time as they are currently 10th in the 12-team standings.

They will resume their campaign with a tough away game against second placed Terengganu on July 9.

Yee Fatt is however relieved that their other foreign imports – Careca, Leandro Santos, Sergio Aguero and Nana Poku – will remain.

Yee Fatt admitted that the situation they are in right now is not ideal as they are celebrating their centenary this year.

“We are doing our best to come out of it. We cannot have this mindset that Perak are going down the drain.

“We have to be positive every day. I can’t go and hide. I have to face the challenges in front of me.”