* ‘It is extremely difficult to work when players are controlled by agents’ – Azraai
* Some agents seem to have strong links with the management’ – Azraai
Kelantan head coach Azraai Khor has quit in a huff – less than four months after being handpicked by Kelantan FA supremo Tan Sri Annuar Musa to take over the hot seat from Dutchman George Boateng.
The shock decision by Azraai came hours after the Red Warriors were soundly beaten by Lions XII in a Super League match at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore on Saturday.
At about 10pm on Sunday, Azraai was on the highway driving back to his hometown Alor Star and made some shocking revelations that needs serious attention from the higher authorities in Malaysia – both at state and national level.
Azraai, a former international who had highly successful stints with his homestate Kedah and Negri Sembilan, however, refused to go into details but said: “When such things are happening and the foreign players do not play to instructions it is impossible to win matches”
“They (foreign players) are told of their specific roles to suit match strategies. But once on the field they are totally different and mess up all your plans,” said an upset Azraai.
The 3-0 defeat to Lions XII on Saturday was the last straw for Azraai. The Red Warriors had also lost this year’s FA Cup final 3-1 to the Singapore outfit at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
“There is only so much you can take as a coach. When the management does not give you a helping hand to sort out your complaints you are fighting a losing battle.”
This year’s M-League has seen the highest turnover of coaches and Azraai is ‘victim’ No 6.
Before Azraai, Terengganu head coach Abdul Rahman Ibrahim took three-months leave last week after coming to know that the management was looking for a scapegoat after the Turtles went six matches without a win.
Others who have been told to “take a rest” were George Boateng (Kelantan), B. Satianathan (Armed Forces), Bojan Hodak (JDT) and Aminuddin Hussein (Kuantan FA).
