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New-look Sengkang has Jorg relishing challenge
Tam Cheong Yan
info@sleague.com
Jorg Steinebrunner is looking forward to a new ‘challenge’ with Sengkang Punggol as he takes over the reins at the club – although he has played down talk of a title tilt.
The northeastern club is gearing up for its eleventh season in the NTUC Income-YEO’S S.League, having finished eight of their ten previous campaigns in the bottom two.
With such an unflattering record, it is no surprise that Sengkang have long been regarded as one of the league’s minnows, but that looks set to change in 2009.
Under the leadership of chairman Ben Lim, who took over the role last year, the Dolphins are embarking on a radical makeover, starting with the appointment of Steinebrunner as coach in December.
The German had parted ways with Woodlands Wellington just weeks earlier, having led the Rams to the RHB Singapore Cup final, which they lost to SAFFC 1-2 in extra time.
“When I left my last job, I thought for a while about leaving the S.League scene,” he revealed as he explained his switch to Sengkang.
“But after speaking with Ben, I felt Sengkang has in him a very enthusiastic and very ambitious chairman. Seeing that the club wants to move things forward and not be in the same low position every year, I’d say it’s a challenge, and I like challenges.
“Professional football is about facing challenges, so we sat down and came to the conclusion that we want to work together and build something. That’s why I made the decision to be here.”
Sengkang’s current rebuilding exercise is by no means a first for the club, although memories of their last attempt could hardly be described as sweet.
The 2008 campaign had seen the Dolphins recruit such proven talents as Ratna Suffian, Ali Imran Lomri and Zdravko Simic, thus assembling a squad that, at least on paper, looked good enough for a mid-table finish.
But the club ended up stuck in the lower reaches of the table for most of the year, narrowly avoiding picking up the wooden spoon thanks to a last-gasp victory over Geylang United in their final game of the season.
Fans of the Hougang-based club are thus familiar with false dawns, but transfer activity so far suggests this season’s Sengkang will be the real deal.
Just six players from the senior squad last year have stayed on the Dolphins roster for 2009, including promising young goalkeeper Joey Sim, Japanese centreback Hiroyuki Yamamoto and winger Razali Johari.
Joining them are three new foreign signings and a slew of experienced campaigners such as former Singapore skipper Aide Iskandar, versatile defender Jerry Bartholomeusz and Amos Boon, who had put off retirement plans to serve Sengkang for a third spell.
The club’s most exciting catch to date, though, is current Singapore rightback Noh Rahman, who has sensationally quit Geylang after spending most of his 12-year professional career with the Eagles.
The 28-year-old’s arrival means the Dolphins now boast of a senior team numbering 19 strong, and the composition of the squad has given Steinebrunner reason to be confident about the club’s chances of doing well this term.
“If you look at all the players who have come in, they are good, quality players with experience and knowhow of being in the top six,” he pointed out.
“Looking at, say, the Geylang or Woodlands players who have come here, they are seasoned men who have consistently played in teams that have finished in the top six. Added to our foreigners, this is a group that knows what it takes to get into the top half.
“So we have put together a team that is going to be competitive and very hard to beat. It’s a hardworking team, but it’s mixed with skilful players who are aware what is required in every game.
“People have noticed us because of who we’ve brought in, and I’m happy about that. We are on the right way in terms of building this team, but we still have a lot of work to do and plenty to prove when the league actually starts.”
Noh Rahman’s move to Sengkang has also brought about new speculation over a number of other players, with Indra Sahdan Daud, Fazrul Nawaz and Precious Emuejeraye all suddenly linked with the club.
When quizzed on the rumours, Steinebrunner would only reveal that the club had indeed met with Indra prior to the Lions’ departure for an AFC Asian Cup qualifier in Iran, but added that no deal has been confirmed as yet.
Even without Indra, who at one point earned in excess of S$10,000 per month, the number of high-profile names now gracing the fields of Hougang Stadium raised questions on whether Sengkang could afford what was likely to be a hefty wage bill.
But while further questions shed no new light on how Sengkang’s current revamp is being bankrolled, the Dolphins coach reassured that the books would remain balanced.
“On the financial side, what I can say is that we have not overshot the budget given to me from the start,” said the 37-year-old.
“There are limits to what we are able to pay, looking at current market circumstances and the recession in general. But we have our football plan, and a lot of players have accepted the football side of our plan and told us they like what is happening here.
“We never went out of our way to get a player at the risk of overshooting our budget. But the fact that the players have accepted the football side and put it before the money side has been very encouraging.
“Of course, it is also about how you talk to the players and make them feel their importance to your plan. It’s important to show them our sincerity, and that’s why people now talk about Noh Rahman deciding to be part of what we are doing at Sengkang.”
The unprecedented buzz about Sengkang has even led to the club being labelled a potential dark horse for the title, a surreal prospect for a side whose best ever finish in the S.League was eighth place in 2002 and 2003.
While there is an element of good-humoured pre-season banter in that claim, the thought might not have been that far from the Dolphins’ minds when they visited Choa Chu Kang recently for a friendly match against defending double champions SAFFC.
Having beaten Malaysian side Johor 2-1 and Police SA 3-0 in their previous spars, the Sengkang players might have been chastened somewhat by the 0-3 defeat by Richard Bok’s Warriors.
As for Steinebrunner, he gave little more than a quiet chuckle when told of the title talk.
“That’s what a lot of other people outside say, and I leave it up to others whether to call us title contenders or not,” he remarked.
“But for us, it’s important that we play a good season and build a team for the future, and from there we go on. We want to be successful, and at this moment, it means getting into a good position in the league and then stabilizing things for many years to come.
“At the end of the day, the players who have come in did so because they see that this is a club with long-term plans to move forward. We don’t want to be in a situation where we move into the top half for one year, and then drop right back into the bottom two.
“So unlike what some people may think, we are not buying a team for a one-off. We are working very hard to build something that will last.”
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