PETALING JAYA: From off-field woes to not even being on the pitch for training, Kuala Lumpur’s issues are costing them performance in the Super League.
The City Boys were thrashed 7-0 by Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) on Saturday at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, and head coach Risto Vidakovic summed it up to a lack of proper preparation.
The Serbian coach said the team did not train for 11 days after their 2-0 win against Kelantan on April 10 due to internal issues he could not share publicly.
“We could not train for almost two weeks because of circumstances that I can’t explain.
‘‘I was not there and the team could not train,” said Vidakovic.
“After being absent for that long, we had to prepare for games in a very short time. And without playing games, players are no longer in rhythm, and it gets complicated.”
Last month, Vidakovic was reported to have been rested by the club’s management after speaking out on issues within the team after losing 1-8 on aggregate to JDT in the Malaysia Cup semi-finals.
During Saturday’s encounter in Johor, the Southern Tigers thrashed the visitors once again with goals coming from Ager Aketxe in the 17th minute, Oscar Arribas (34th), Stuart Wilkin (72nd), Alberto Martin (76th), Ajdin Mujagic (82nd), Eddy Silvestre (84th), and Manuel Federico wrapping things up with the final blow in stoppage time.
Vidakovic admitted they held their ground as they trailed by two goals before half-time, but things collapsed when Ukrainian defender Dmytro Lytvyn got sent off six minutes into the second half.
“After the red card, we were not in the game at all.
‘‘The atmosphere is not the same as it used to be because of strange things happening in the club.
“Because right now, I see that everyone is looking out for their own future. But I hope we can at least compete with dignity until the end.
“The players are not playing for me, they are playing for themselves and also for the name of the club,” he said.
As the season reaches its end with two matches remaining, Kuala Lumpur are sitting fourth with 42 points, five points behind Kuching and nine points clear of Terengganu below them.
