New Sabah Times
KOTA KINABALU: David McCreery has urged his charges to show the home fans what they can do by nicking victory over Johor in a Premier League tie at the Likas Stadium today.
The Sabahawks head coach is optimistic of their chances of picking up the three points provided they play their hearts out.
“It is up to the players to show the fans what they can do.
Judging from their spirit in training, I’m quite confident they will emerge victors,” said McCreery when contacted yesterday.
He admitted that it will take plenty of effort to try and beat Johor, but if his charges play their hearts out, nothing is impossible!
“An all-out performance will determine if we can clinch the three points.
For the record, the Sabahawks have yet to score a win since hosting NS Betaria FC on January 14, and have merely managed to pick up one point from the possible 15 from their last five outings.
“They did really well to score three second-half goals to clinch a point from last week’s match against Police,” said McCreery, as he hopes it would be the start of the team’s revival.
“If they start tomorrow’s match (today) the same way they played against Police there’s no reason why the points cannot be ours,” he added.
He also hinted of making some changes to the squad, with options for the home side as they welcome the possible return of flanker Julamri Muhammad, who recently resumed training.
But McCreery said that skipper, Rhys David Weston, is still out due to injury, but could make a comeback in the Borneo derby at the Stadium Negeri against Sarawak next week.
Sabahawks will go into the match one spot clear from the relegation zone with only seven points from a possible 24 after eight games into the season.
They lost four of their five previous matches including back-to-back home defeats to Kedah and POS Malaysia FC, before the hard-earned 3-3 draw away to Police last week.
