Negri Sembilan coach Mohd Azraai Khor hopes that his team have seen the last of the injury crisis that hit his team during the Super League as they prepare for next month’s Malaysia Cup competition.
The 2009 Malaysia Cup champions were rated as one of the favourites for last season’s Super League title but injuries to as many as eight players hampered their progress and they could only finish eighth in the 14-team league.
Azraai admitted that it was the first time in his coaching career that he had missed so many key players to injuries at the same time.
“I still remember that at one stage of the Super League, we were staring at relegation. Luckily we managed to hang on and finish in eighth place,” he said.
“Injuries will be the one thing that we need to avoid in the Malaysia Cup competition next month.
“I don’t want to think too much about our chances of winning the Cup ... we will take it one match at a time.”
However, the Deer’s Malaysia Cup campaign does look promising with the expected return of the Abdul Razak twins – Mohd Zaquan Adha and Aidil Zafuan – and Norhafiz Zamani Misbah, all internationals.
The Malaysia Cup will kick off on Sept 6.
Negri defeated Kelantan 3-1 in 2009 to hoist the Malaysia Cup for only the second time in their history.
But they failed to defend the title last year, losing 1-2 to Kelantan in the final.
The Deer have lined up a series of friendlies, beginning with an away match against Johor FC (Aug 17) before home fixtures at the Paroi Stadium against Sarawak (Aug 20), Johor (Aug 24) and Selangor (Aug 27).
Azraai believes that the series of friendly matches lined up would enable his players to regain their confidence after their poor showing in the Super League.
“The friendly matches will be the perfect platform for the players to regain their confidence,” said Azraai.
“Fitness is not a problem ... we just need to regain our confidence and approach our Malaysia Cup matches with the right attitude.
“We will focus on getting past the group stage first before thinking about the quarter-finals as we are in a tricky group.”
Negri are in Group B of the Malaysia Cup with Terengganu, Sime Darby FC and PKNS.
The 2009 Malaysia Cup champions were rated as one of the favourites for last season’s Super League title but injuries to as many as eight players hampered their progress and they could only finish eighth in the 14-team league.
Azraai admitted that it was the first time in his coaching career that he had missed so many key players to injuries at the same time.
“I still remember that at one stage of the Super League, we were staring at relegation. Luckily we managed to hang on and finish in eighth place,” he said.
“Injuries will be the one thing that we need to avoid in the Malaysia Cup competition next month.
“I don’t want to think too much about our chances of winning the Cup ... we will take it one match at a time.”
However, the Deer’s Malaysia Cup campaign does look promising with the expected return of the Abdul Razak twins – Mohd Zaquan Adha and Aidil Zafuan – and Norhafiz Zamani Misbah, all internationals.
The Malaysia Cup will kick off on Sept 6.
Negri defeated Kelantan 3-1 in 2009 to hoist the Malaysia Cup for only the second time in their history.
But they failed to defend the title last year, losing 1-2 to Kelantan in the final.
The Deer have lined up a series of friendlies, beginning with an away match against Johor FC (Aug 17) before home fixtures at the Paroi Stadium against Sarawak (Aug 20), Johor (Aug 24) and Selangor (Aug 27).
Azraai believes that the series of friendly matches lined up would enable his players to regain their confidence after their poor showing in the Super League.
“The friendly matches will be the perfect platform for the players to regain their confidence,” said Azraai.
“Fitness is not a problem ... we just need to regain our confidence and approach our Malaysia Cup matches with the right attitude.
“We will focus on getting past the group stage first before thinking about the quarter-finals as we are in a tricky group.”
Negri are in Group B of the Malaysia Cup with Terengganu, Sime Darby FC and PKNS.
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