Getting serious: Kuching City’s Abu Kamara (right) in action against a Penang player during the FA Cup round-of-16 match. . — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Coach Irfan Bakti has owned up after a string of poor results with Kuching City.
He has offered to resign from his position after the team went on a seven-game winless run in the Super League and lost 0-4 to Penang in the FA Cup round of 16 at the State Stadium in Kuching, in which Irfan described their performance as “unacceptable”.
But the club’s co-owners, Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman and Kamaludin Akil, do not want Irfan to leave.
Instead, they have thrown their support and said they still had faith in Irfan to take the club out of a bottom three finish. The club are currently in 12th position with four points.
And the quest to get out of the pit starts today when they take on Pahang at the State Stadium in Kuching.
The 72-year-old Irfan said it was nice to get the backing from the owners, and had agreed to stay on until the club could find their footing in the Super League.
“The pressure is there, and I did tell the owners that I wanted to quit. The club weren’t on a good run, but they told me to stay on,” said Irfan.
Kuching City coach Irfan Bakti
“They said I alone could not be blamed for the current run.
“Previously, I left Felda United and Terengganu as well, but those teams were not at the bottom of the standings.
“I know it would not be nice to quit because Kuching City are at the bottom. So I need to move them up and make sure they can prove to everyone they have what it takes to play in the Super League.
“Looks like I have to tahan (stay on) now. We are discussing ways to improve the team. The owners are receptive, and we will have some changes when the second transfer window starts.”
Their opponents tonight are also in a mood to bounce back after losing 0-4 to Selangor in the same stage of the FA Cup.
“Pahang’s defeat against Selangor is an advantage for us ... I just want my players to bounce back,” said Irfan.
“I know the boys try their best in every game, we need to be more focused with our tactics and be clinical upfront. I know people say we have the fighting spirit and were impressed with it last season, but that alone is not enough.
“The quality between my side and others is different. Most of our local players are playing in the league for the first time.
“Gradually, they will get better and improve, but to assist that, we will sign better players to help them,” he said. “I’ve scouted several foreigners, we plan to change at least three of them. We are also looking at locals too.”
The second transfer window is between July 5 and Aug 1.
