New Selangor coach Irfan Bakti denies he joined for money

It was not money that prompted Irfan Bakti to join Selangor.

 

Instead, it was the culmination of all the little things which led to his big decision, said the 60-year-old coach who parted company with Terengganu just two days after losing Saturday's Malaysia Cup final to Negri Sembilan.

The Kelantan-born coach said most people thought it was the money that took him away from the East Coast club after just two years at the helm.

"They can check with the FA of Malaysia (FAM) and they will find that my pay will not be any higher than what Terengganu were paying me.

 

"Money was never a motivation for me and at my age, it will never be," said Irfan in Kota Baru yesterday.

Reluctant to reveal the reason behind his decision to quit the team that won the FA Cup, finished second in the Super League and the Malaysia Cup, Irfan said certain things are better left unsaid.

"Suffice to say, my heart is broken beyond repair and I knew before the Malaysia Cup final first whistle that I could no longer stay in Kuala Terengganu," he said.

"That was one of the hardest decisions I had to ever make as I love my players, I admire the fans and most of all, my family and I have a great life here."

Irfan said he was truly sorry for the fans who had every right to expect Terengganu to bring the Malaysia Cup home.

"We did our best under the circumstances but I guess our best was just not good enough this time round.

"Perhaps things could have been different but that is water under the bridge now and there is no point in crying over spilt milk," said the coach who admitted the morale in the camp was not all that high before Saturday's big match.

He said some of the players were not "themselves" on the night judging by their body language and facial expressions.

"I hate pointing fingers at anybody but somebody has to take the blame for neglecting the needs of the players and the coaches for that matter, before the biggest match of their lives.

"Among the players' grouses was that they were allocated only four tickets to the final and to them that was just unacceptable and I agreed," he said.

Meanwhile, Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said the losing finalists will not receive any reward from the state government.

"It is up to the Terengganu FA to decide on the form of incentives, if any, for the players who came close to winning the Malaysia Cup," he said.