New Sabah Times
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Football Association will act according to the book and would notify the ‘wanted’ and ‘unwanted’ players by next week.
Its Secretary General Alijus Hj Sipil said that they will be holding a meeting sometime next week to review their earlier decision before sending memo/s to all its chargers whether they still have a place in the team or otherwise for the new season.
The FA announced last month its intention to axe 13 players from its Super League squad following the team’s poor performance and relegation this season.
So far, they have revealed that they will not renew the contracts of its foreign imports, Brendan Gan and Hendrik Helmke.
There will also be no place for two former national custodians – Azizon Abd Kadir as well as Syed Adney Syed Hussien, who are both set to make their way out.
The fate of the injury-prone Ronny Harun, as revealed by the New Sabah Times Sports recently, is also still uncertain, and so is Mohd Fariss Azlan Mat Isa.
When pressed further on who is on the axe list, Alijus was tight-lipped.
“It will be revealed after the team management meeting, which is to be chaired by the chairman Datuk Osman Jamal (the FA Vice President I).
“But whatever we do, we will do it by the book and according to what is stipulated under the contracts.
“The contracts state that we must decide on whether to retain or not three months before their contracts end. So since almost all of their contracts expire on November 30, 2012, we will do so, and we will act by the first week of next month,” said Alijus.
The decision on which individuals to drop or retain will be tough to make, but the FA is determined to clean up house and has clearly stated its refusal to tolerate big-headed players.
“Attitude, discipline and commitment will be the main factors to be considered in choosing players for the new squad next season.
“We have a big task of getting Sabah back to the Super League and we want to make sure we make the right decisions when choosing players for the task,” he added.
“I hope this would ring the bell on the players’ ears that we are serious in forming a formidable side for the new season,” said Alijus.
Furthermore, Alijus said football is their profession or rather their bread and butter, and he feels the players should take things seriously, especially on maintaining their performances.
It is believed that some players are paid from RM10,000-RM15,000 monthly.
It’s sad to note that, their high salaries often failed to reflect their on-the-pitch performances in the just concluded season.
Alijus said the team’s training sessions would proceed as per scheduled after resuming on Tuesday from their 10-day Hari Raya break.
For the record, 12 Sabah players are on loan to other teams in the Malaysia Cup competition.
Ronny Harun, Bobby Gonzales and Sharudin Yakup are with the Crocs (Sarawak), while Mohd Reithuddin Ag Emran, Mohd Fariss and Zuraindey Jumai have joined Perak.
Sumardi Hajalan and Shahrul Azhar Ture also share the same outfit after joining Terengganu T-Team, while Mafry Balang, Rozaimi Abdul Rahman, Sabri Sahar and K. Thanaraj have joined Kelantan, Selangor, Kedah and Negeri Sembilan respectively.
It is believed, although not confirmed, that some of these top players are among those who will face the axe, next week.
