Jelius is not impressed
Kota Kinabalu: The five foreign imports who are here, hoping to don Sabah colours next season, have so far failed to impress Rhinos head coach Jelius Ating after the second day of trial at the Likas Stadium on Wednesday. Two more South Koreans showed up on Wednesday night following the earlier arrival of three players led by former Rhino Heo Jae-Nyeong who is trying to make a return to the squad.
The others are Kenyan defender Kelal Ogal Kaoga, Patrick Elameni who is a defensive player and the other Koreans – Lee Hyo Kyun, a striker and defender Ko Kyungjoon. Kelal is understood to have left early on Thursday while the rest were given more opportunity to prove themselves. "I have yet to see any outstanding players at the moment. But I will give them chance to prove themselves and those who are not up to the mark, we will ask them to leave early.
"As for Heo, we know his capability but at the moment, he seemed to be not hundred percent fit as yet. We want to ensure that only those who can contribute to the team will wear our jersey. My priority now is to look for imports to fill in each of the defence, midfield and striker positions." He is hoping more players will come for trial in the coming days.
"More players are supposed to come but due to the Christmas holidays, some may have to come later and hopefully we can get the best imports available to make a strong impact next season," he said on Wednesday evening. The team currently still have the service of Serbian striker, Rodoljub Paunovic who is under contract until the middle of next season. Meanwhile, former Rhinos Scott Ollerenshaw's son Jordan is also attending the trial. Jelius reckoned the youngster who had trained in the Brazil Cruizero Academy based in Thailand and played for JDT III in the President Cup last season is still too raw for the senior squad.
"Jordan has the potential, but right now I feel that he is not ready for the senior squad and we may try him in the President Cup squad." Also present to monitor the trials were Sabah Football Association (Safa) Supreme Council member Andrew Laban, Secretary General Andrew Majanggim and team manager Henry Saimpon. - GL Oh
New Sabah Times
By FRANCIS XAVIER
KOTA KINABALU: Jelius Ating has set his sights on strengthening his squad with quality foreign signings. The Sabah Rhinos head coach said he will only sign foreign players that he believes could help improve his side. Jelius is on the lookout for a striker, midfielder and a defender to complete his four foreign imports quota in the team.
He still has the services of Serbian striker Rodoljub Paunovic, who is still under contract until the middle of the new season.
So far, five foreign hopefuls, an Englishman, one Kenyan and three Koreans, including former player Heo Jaenyeong, attended trials with the team.
However, Jelius is still not very impressed with what he sees.
In fact, Kenyan defender Kelal Ogal Kaoga has already packed his bags after two days of trials.
The remaining four that are still on trials are Patrick Elameni, also a defender, from England, Lee Hyo Kyun (striker), Ko Kyungjoon (defender) and Heo.
Jelius hopes more foreign players will be coming for trials in order to give him more options.
“So far I have yet to see something special from the hopefuls that we have now. Nevertheless, we will give them more time to prove their worth. But I think we may have to let some of them go as we believe that they are the not kind of players we want,” said Jelius.
“When it comes to signing any of the foreign players, we will be extra cautious. We will try to make sure that the players that we sign can help improve our team. For now, out top priority is a striker, a midfielder and a defender.
“There will be more foreign hopefuls coming including those that we have invited. But I guess most of them will be coming after Christmas.
“We really hope we will be able to get good foreign imports, who could help us mount a stronger challenge in the Premier League next season,” said Jelius.
Commenting on Heo, Jelius insisted that there will be no free ride for the Korean midfielder to make the team. He said Heo, who left the team due to injury mid-season during the recent campaign, needs to prove himself like the rest of the hopefuls.
“We know his capabilities, but it seems that his injury is still bothering him,” said Jelius.
The son of former Sabah Rhinos hotshot, Jordan Ollerenshaw, was also seen attending trials with the team.
Jordan who is among the players that were short-listed for national Under-21 training, but failed to make the final squad recently had a stint with Johor Darul Ta’zim III President’s Cup squad and was loaned out to Sydney-based St. George Football Association.
“Jordan has potential, but for now, I don’t think he is ready for the senior squad. But we will try him out with our President’s Cup team,” said Jelius, adding that they will train until Saturday before giving his side a short Christmas break.
