Nurshamil faces fight with trio of imports to be regular Red Warrior

PETALING JAYA: Striker Nurshamil Abd Ghani (pic) is bracing for a fight with three new import strikers – Nixon Guylherme Brizolara from Brazil, Kervens Belfort from Haiti and Fadel Mohammad Antar from Lebanon – for a starting place in the Kelantan side.

Kelantan coach Rezal Zambery Yahya signed the three foreigners to boost their side’s challenge for the new Premier League season.

The Red Warriors lost 1-3 to Selangor in a friendly match at the UiTM Stadium on Tuesday.

They will travel to Sabah tomorrow to play in the Sabah Maju Cup.

Nurshamil is not afraid of the fight but will take it as a challenge and is optimistic he will come out the better for experience.

“The hard work is always there. This year will be more difficult than last year, so I have to be better prepared.

“I have to impress in every friendly match so as to make it easier for me to get a place in the starting 11 when the Premier League starts later.

“We have three new quality import strikers but I believe there is always a chance there for me,” said the 27-year-old.

Nurshamil is optimistic about Kelantan’s chances of earning promotion to the Super League this season after playing the last three seasons in the Premier League since 2019.

“The preparation is more orderly compared to last season and we also take the Premier League competition seriously.

“We know other teams like Police and Perak have also spent a lot of time to prepare well, so we won’t take things easy.”