NIBONG TEBAL, Jan 3 — The 2020 Premier League champions, Penang FC are optimistic about facing the 2021 Super League competition and will give their best performance throughout the tournament.
Chief coach, Tomas Trucha said despite now needing time to get to know the team and management, it was no obstacle for him to share and exchange experiences with his assistant coach Manzoor Azwira Abdul Wahid in finding a point of balance in the team.
“The target that we discussed with the management of the club is to stabilise the team in the league, (and) to fight to be in the middle of the table.
“In the mean time, I need some time to know the players and some new players are still coming and so we will take some time but at the same time I understand the results are also important.
‘’So we will try our best,” he told Bernama during a training session of the Black Panthers squad at the Padang Awam Jawi here, yesterday.
It was learnt that the training session of the team with the coach from the Czech Republic yesterday was the third after arriving in Penang and undergoing quarantine in Kuala Lumpur earlier, starting Dec 21.
He was also asked to give his views, whether the ‘’Tiki Taka’’ movement techniques used by Mansoor prior to this which had enabled the Black Panthers squad to grab the 2020 Premier League championship, would be maintained.
“As we had discussed, we want to keep the things that are working such as the position football, (to) keep the ball on the ground, rotation of the players..these are what we want to continue and I just want to bring some things (to improve the squad more).
“Also, I think Manzoor and his technical team did a very good job with the team...and as the results, they won the premier league, which is great,” he said.
Trucha said that other than wanting to observe his team in every match, he also wanted to stress on his team on the need to create fun and excitement among the players on the field as well as boosting the momentum of the team in every competition.
“Even though the results are important but to me, also important that everybody can see which football we are playing...at the same time, I want the people to enjoy the football and the players will enjoy the football as well,” he said.
Trucha started his career as coach at the age of 25 and had vast experience in Europe before joining several teams in Africa.
Earlier, the Malaysian Football League (MFL) announced via media reports that domestic competitions such as the Super League and Premier League would commence on Feb 27 and 28, 2021, respectively, and would end on Aug 20 and 21, 2021, respectively. — Bernama
