Kelantan Red Warrior FC (KRW FC) head coach Irfan Bakti Abu Salim admitted that the majority of his players have not yet reached the level required to compete in the Super League.
He said the situation was a challenge for his team to compete with other teams that have more experienced local and imported players.
“I don’t want to belittle my own players, but my players’ ability to play in the Super League is not at the level it should be. However, they still tried their best.
“Most of my players are playing in the top league for the first time, only a few players have experience playing in the Super League,” he told reporters after the match against Kuala Lumpur City FC (KL City) at the Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium, last night.
KRW FC lost 1-3 to KL City in the match, thus suffering their fourth consecutive defeat since being promoted from the Semi-Pro League to the Super League this season.
Irfan Bakti said the lack of experience is not an excuse for his men to reduce their commitment, on the contrary they need to give 100 per cent effort in every match.
“But this is not an excuse. If we enter the Super League, we have to give 100 per cent commitment. I can’t blame the players I have,” he said.
Commenting on the defeat, he said tactical weaknesses, especially when facing high balls and dead ball situations, also contributed to the result.
“We gave too much space to the opposing team, besides our players losing in high ball battles.
“The player registration constraints are the main obstacle to overcoming these weaknesses. The management has tried various ways to resolve this issue, but have not found a satisfactory solution,” he said.
Meanwhile, KL City head coach Datuk Dollah Salleh praised the discipline and spirit of his players who continued to fight after trailing by one goal.
He said the victory also gave him confidence in the abilities of the reserve players who were given a chance in the match.
