KOTA BHARU – Kelantan’s chief coach, Yusri Che Lah does not want to praise his team sky-high especially the young players after winning the match against Sarawak in the Premier League competition at the Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium, here, last night.
The Perlis-born coach, said he did not want to overly praise his players fearing it would affect their focus at the subsequent matches.
“I don’t want to overly praise my players. I am worried they might lose their rhythm after being showered with praises to the point of impacting on their game and the team.
“Prior to this, some players who received accolades from the media after scoring goals lost their focus for a long period of time. Not that I am blaming the media. My young players have yet to experience this situation,” he said, here, today.
Kelantan defeated Sarawak 1-0 in the match via a penalty kick by Mohd Nazrin Mohd Nawi in the 84th minute.
Yusri conceded that his players were still not demonstrating a game of quality despite winning three points at home.
“As far as I am concerned, the players were still not doing their best tonight but fortune was on our side at their effort. I do not want them to still be having their heads in the clouds after the victory tonight.
“Strive to overcome the existing weaknesses to face the balance two matches,” he said.
Meanwhile, after the match Sarawak chief coach, E. Elavarasan said taking full advantage of opportunities to score goals was more important that controlling the game.
“A team can win in football by taking advantage of goal-scoring chances despite not controlling the game.
“Tonight, we had many chances at scoring goals but the players did not use them well and, in the end, we had to concede defeat,” he added.
— BERNAMA
