Kelantan wary of Selangor threat
Kelantan manager Azman Ibrahim insists his side cannot afford to be complacent ahead of Friday's Malaysia Cup semi-final second leg against Selangor.
By Gabriel Tan
The Red Warriors currently hold a one-goal aggregate lead in their last-four encounter with Irfan Bakti's men, after Norfarhan Muhammad's second-half strike handed them a 1-0 win at the Sultan Mohammad IV Stadium last Saturday.
However, Azman believes the tie remains delicately poised and insists coach Bojan Hodak will not be tempted to be defensive-minded at the Shah Alam Stadium on Friday.
"The one-goal margin is not good enough," he told ESPNSTAR.com in an exclusive interview.
"We will not be too defensive and will look to play our normal game against Selangor.
"The tie is still very much open and whoever takes full advantage of their chances will go through to the final."
Azman revealed inspirational captain Badri Radzi, who missed the first leg due to an eye infection, has recovered and is set to lead his troops into battle.
"Piya [Badri] has recovered from his eye infection and is likely to play on Friday," he added.
"The confidence among the players is very high ahead of the game. All of them are in good condition and we now want to focus on the mental preparation."
Should the current Super League and FA Cup champions fail to see off the Red Giants, Friday's game will provide one last chance for loan signings Afiq Azmi, Mafry Balang and Aslam Haja Najmudeen to impress and earn a permament move to the Sultan Mohammad IV Stadium, especially given they're all contracted to clubs that were relegated to the Premier League earlier this year.
Afiq in particular has impressed with four goals in the group stage of the Malaysia Cup, but the Kelantan chief reveals decisions over a permanent move will only be entertained once the season has ended.
"Our loan signings for the Malaysia Cup have been very good, but there is still no talk on whether we will be looking to sign them permanent," Azman said.
"Right now, our focus is purely on the Malaysia Cup. We'll decide on any prospective signings once the campaign is over."
Kelantan's only triumph in the competition came back in 2010 when they defeated Negri Sembilan 2-1 in the final.