New Selangor manager denies his appointment undermines coach

Selangor Football Asscociaton (FAS) general secretary Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin has denied allegations that his appointment as the team’s manager is a step to undermine coach K. Devan.

Devan was Selangor’s manager-cum-coach before being relieved of his managerial duties for the coming Malaysia Cup campaign.

There have also been calls for Devan to be sacked after the Red Giants failed to defend their Super League title.

“I was not keen on becoming Selangor manager but, after being persuaded by the FAS committee members, I relented.

“But I consider myself as a caretaker manager,” said Hamidin yesterday.

“In fact, Devan himself asked me to manage the team as he wanted to focus on coaching the team to Malaysia Cup victory.

“The decision to relieve Devan of his managerial duty is not a step to undermine him. Devan’s contract ends in November and there’s still long way to go before we talk about his contract.”

The Red Giants have won the Malaysia Cup a record 32 times but their last triumph was in 2005, under the guidance of former international Dollah Salleh.

The Klang Valley Giants are desperate to end the season with a silverware after finishing third in the Super League and being ousted in the FA Cup semi-final by bitter rivals Kelantan.
Hamidin has set his team a target of qualifying for the final of the Malaysia Cup.

“Our first target is to play in the final,” said Hamidin.

“We have signed a few players on loan and we are still looking for a few more to strengthen the team. We will make an official announcement on these players soon.”