Hodak takes cautious approach

Source: NST Online

KELANTAN are dreaming of becoming treble champions again.

But while it is fine to be ambitious, coach Bojan Hodak said the Super League, FA Cup and Malaysia Cup champions have to be realistic.

Hodak, who is also the team manager, admitted that a similar feat may just be a little too much to hope for.

"We are not as potent up front as last year, as we will be without (Mohamad) Ghaddar, Norshahrul (Idlan Talaha), S. Chanturu, Nurul Azwan (Roya), Ramzul (Zahini Adnan) and Azlan (Ismail) who have gone to other teams.

"Of course, we have brought in (Keita) Mandjou, Haris (Safwan), Faiz (Subri) and Zairo (Anuar Zailani) and several young players but they will take time to gel with the rest of the team," he said.

The 41-year-old Croatian said the current team are still a work in progress but claimed that after eight friendly matches, they are heading in the right direction.

The Red Warriors beat Palm Beach FC 3-0 in Brisbane, Australia in November before crushing Perlis 5-0 and Kedah 4-1 in Kota Baru.

A week later, the squad went to Banda Aceh, Indonesia, to take part in the Aceh Governer Cup but they only managed to secure a 1-1 draw with Brunei DPMM FC before losing 4-2 to Semen Padang FC.

"The real test will come this Saturday at Shah Alam Stadium when we take on Armed Forces in the Charity Shield," said Hodak.

"Quite a number of teams,including Darul Takzim and Selangor, will be challenging for honours in the new season.

"Being the defending champions, we are going to be the target of every competing team who will make it their mission to beat us. All I can say now is that we are not going to be that easy to beat."