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Woodlands’ long-term project begins here
Sazali Abdul Aziz
info@sleague.com
Heavy rain interrupted Woodlands Wellington’s first workout session of the pre-season at the Singapore Sports School last Tuesday. It was a shame, because the weather was near-perfect earlier in the day.
But it seems that for the Rams, when it rains, it pours.
Having seen their squad of 2009 almost totally picked apart by other S.League clubs in the close season – only five from the club’s roster remain – Woodlands have been forced to embark on a rebuilding programme.
The club’s financial constraints were well documented, and on top of losing most of their players, they were also forced to retract their initial offer of a contract extension to head coach Nenad Bacina, who guided the team to a creditable 9th place finish but has since left for his native Croatia.
Team manager Jeykanth Jeyapal though was coy when talking about the issue. “If you compare our budget to clubs like SAFFC, Tampines, Home United and even Geylang, then it is much lower, especially when we are talking about wage structures and so on,” he said.
He much prefers to talk about the club’s plans for its future. And the man who has been tasked to see the plans through is their new head coach, 33-year-old A. Shasi Kumar.
Shasi had been part of Gombak United’s coaching staff for the past five years, and is relishing his first crack at the helm of an S.League team. He had a stint as caretaker coach for Gombak in 2008, and led the Bulls to an impressive 10 wins in their final 15 league games then.
“Looking at the players and the budget of the club for 2009, they have done an excellent job,” he said. “My aim for this batch is to improve on last year, in terms of the points total. We will also look to play good, attractive football.”
Taking a momentary glance at his players, he added: “We have a good mix of experienced and young players – I can tell you that this team will be hard to beat.”
Shasi has reason to be bullish. Woodlands have managed to sign some handy players in the close season, with former Geylang United skipper Noor Ali arguably the biggest name to join the club.
The Singapore Cup winner was linked with a move to league giants Tampines Rovers after he was released by the Eagles upon the expiry of his contract, but decided to make a move up north instead.
The Rams will also welcome back two former players in winger Sazali Salleh and Moroccan striker Abdelhadi Laakkad.
Sazali returns to the Rams after a year at Sengkang Punggol where injury blighted his season, while 32-year-old Laakkad – who netted 45 goals for the club between 2006 and 2008 and was awarded the S.League Player of the Year and Top-Scorer in 2006 – will be depended upon for the goals.
Laakkad, the retained Chilean defender/midfielder Luis Eduardo Hicks, former Albirex Niigata (Singapore) defender Kazuki Yoshino and a fourth foreigner – a central midfielder who Woodlands hope to sign up before the New Year – will make up the club’s foreign contingent for 2010.
Jeykanth is optimistic that the club is on the right track, and is hopeful that it will make good progress in the next few years. “Basically the team is still in renewal. This is definitely a long-term plan – it will take two or three years,” he said.
Explaining the choice of Shasi as head coach, he continued: “We felt it was important to get a local coach who will grow with the team. Shasi is a young coach, and he brings his own ideas to the team.
“Having said that, we are realistic, and we will not put undue pressure on the coach or the team. Of course we will still have our expectations with performance, spirit and dedication shown by the team.”
By the time we finished our chat, the rain had subsided, and light started to peek from behind the grey clouds.
And with a new plan to revive the club in motion, Woodlands’s management, players and fans, will surely hope for the same positive result in years to come. |
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