Negri Sembilan coach wants Malaysia Cup trophy as birthday present

Azraai Khor Abdullah wants to fulfil his birthday wish by helping Negri Sembilan win the Malaysia Cup on Saturday.

 

Azraai turns 59 tomorrow but the Negri coach will not be celebrating his birthday until his mission is accomplished.

"I want to concentrate on the final as winning the Malaysia Cup is my target. We have to prepare as best we can," said Azraai in Paroi on Saturday.

"We have defied the odds and silenced our critics by reaching the final. I want my players to be in their best condition for the match."

 Azraai, a former international, led Kedah to three Malaysia Cup finals before joining the FA of Malaysia (FAM) as the national Under-21 coach in late 2009.

He joined Kedah as coach in 2004 and led them to the final that year but were beaten by Perlis 1-0. However, Azraai made amends by helping them win back-to-back trebles (Malaysia Cup, Super League and FA Cup titles) in 2007 and 2008 before quitting a year later.

Azraai attributed Negri's success in the Malaysia Cup to team work and support from concerned parties.

"It has been a difficult season for me as Negri were doing badly when I was hired in March. Everyone needed to be motivated then but we regained our confidence after we began to play better and get better results," added the coach.

"I am enjoying my tenure here as getting Negri back on track has been a challenge. It will be perfect if I can lead them to glory in this final."

For the record Negri are the first team to reach three successive Malaysia Cup finals since 2000. They won in 1948 and 2009 but were beaten finalists in 2000, 2006 and 2010.