ROZAIMI Abdul Rahman will be considered for international assignments even if he opts not to join Young Tigers A next season. The striker, a member of the AFF Cup training squad, prefers to see out his contract with Sabah which expires at the end of the 2014 season. The 20-year-old feels that if he follows his heart, he may not get a chance to play in next year's Sea Games in Myanmar.
Tigers coach Ong Kim Swee has assured Rozaimi that he will be considered for the Sea Games. "Yes, I have made an unofficial offer to him and have also spoken to the Sabah FA. I am confident he will join the Tigers next season," said Kim Swee when contacted in Singapore yesterday.
"Rozaimi is young and he feels he owes his success to his home state. I admire his loyalty but the right move will be to join the Tigers before the Sea Games. "It will be better if I have my core Sea Games-bound players in the Tigers squad. I need them to play as a unit on a regular basis. Rozaimi is an important player and he needs to adjust to our team's tactics." Several players from the current team who did not perform will get the chop as Kim Swee has identified replacements.
"I will finalise my new squad -- likely next week. I have several players in mind but I need to speak to their teams before offering contracts," he said. Tigers will end theirS-League campaign against league leaders Tampines Rovers today and a win will see them finish third. Tampines, led by four imports and two naturalised players, and who are one point ahead of DPMM FC, need a win today to secure the title.
Kim Swee has only 15 fit players for the match and could lose defender Affize Faisal Mamat ,who injured himself in training on Wednesday. It will be the last match for Affize and V. Kavichelvan, who will be overage for next year's squad. By Ajitpal Singh
