Fandi Ahmad named as manager of Johor

Winds of change continue to hit Premier League outfit Johor as they prepare to play a wounded Pahang in Temerloh on Tuesday -- a match that could spell their promotion hopes next year.

Pahang, serious title contenders for the Premier League title, were beaten 3-2 by hot favourites Armed Forces at the MBPJ Stadium in Kelana Jaya on Friday and saw two of their key players red carded in an evenly contested match.

Just a day after officially taking over as the Johor FA's technical adviser  and to "work closely" with head coach K. Sukumaran, Singapore football legend Fandi Ahmad was named as Johor's  team manager on Friday.

Fandi, 49, took over  from  Datuk Abdul Aziz Sapian, who is also a deputy president of the Johor FA. 

 "I am really honoured to be given this post. I am grateful to be given the trust by the top guns in the association and I will do my best to take Johor football to new heights," said Fandi, who has signed a three-year contract, yesterday.

The decision to give Fandi additional  responsibilities, apart from being the FA's technical adviser was taken at the Johor FA's council meeting in Johor Baru on Thursday.

Johor have also officially registered Fandi as the team manager with the FA of Malaysia (FAM) with immediate effect.

The winds of change started last week when the association's royal patron  Tengku Ismail Sultan Iskandar announced via Twitter that he had taken over as the president from incumbent Mohd Jais Sarday, who is also the state executive councillor for youth and sports.

To a question, Fandi revealed that he was keen to lead the Singapore Under-21 side to the AFC Under-22 qualifier in Brunei in June as part of the Young Lions preparations for next year's Sea Games in Myanmar.

However, the FA of Singapore (FAS) was slow to respond and Fandi, who has his own football academy in the republic, grabbed the offer from Johor.

"I will still help out the FAS on ad-hoc basis. But right now my loyalty lies with Johor. Sukumaran and myself are determined to rebuild Johor football and bring back the glorious days."