Daily Express
Kota Kinabalu: Honesty and sincerity by the players is one of the keys for Sabah to succeed in the forthcoming M-League, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.
The Chief Minister who is also the President of the Sabah Football Association said this at the official signing ceremony of the M-League players and the introduction of all the players as well as those in the FAM Cup and President Cup teams at a leading hotel here on Tuesday.
"As I mentioned before, not just in government and organisation but in sports as well, the most important factor to success is honesty and sincerity."
"The players must be clean and play with full commitment and be disciplined and I don't want to hear any negative comments on the player such as late night outs, selling matches or other stunts.
"There is no excuse for any of the players who try to be funny and breach their conduct as it is important to protect the reputation of the State while playing for the team."
He urged the players to be serious in their training sessions under David McCreery to produce a winning team.
'With his vast experience as a player and a coach I hope the players will pay full attention during the training sessions and absorb as much knowledge from him."
He also reminded the local import players to play their hearts out for their newly adopted state.
He cited the likes of EPL players who come from all part of the globe but always give 100 percent for the team they are playing for.
Musa also admitted that he was very disappointed with the team last season where they were relegated and he hoped the present team will bounce back and return to the top flight at the end of the season.
Meanwhile, newly appointed team manager Alijus Sipil said the main target of the team is to finish top in the league.
"Teams that may pose problems in our quest to clinch the title may likely come from Sarawak, Sime Darby, Johor and Kedah."
He also said Rozaimi Abdul Rahman would not be featured in the team for whole of next season as he is under contract to play for Harimau Muda A until the SEA Games.
Alijus also said that the team would definitely be using Likas Stadium for their Premier League campaign next season.
"The stadium which is currently under renovation will be ready by the end of the month according to the Sabah Sports Board management and the only obstacle at the moment is whether the light produced from each of the poles will be able to produce the minimum 1000 lux."
He said the technical personnel were already in town and were supposed to check the lighting last night (Tuesday).
He added that if they failed meet the requirement, the team will have no choice but to play their matches during day time unless they could rectify the shortcoming early.
That may take time as the technical personnel have other stadiums to tend to and Sabah FA will also have to bear the cost as well.
