Super League: #YakiniLokal able to lift The Phoenix to greater heights

KUALA LUMPUR, March 2  -- Petaling Jaya (PJ) City FC’s status as the only team with only local players will not hinder them from performing well in the 2022 season of the Super League.

PJ City FC team owner Datuk Seri Vijay Eswaran said his squad has matured thanks to their experience in the Super League since 2019 and he believed they can improve their standings this season.

Vijay is confident in the abilities of head coach P. Maniam, who has managed the team since November 2020, and the presence of seven new faces can propel The Phoenix to a top five finish in the 2022 season.

“It’s possible to be in the top five even without import players in the team, I always believe in the squad slogan ‘YakiniLokal’,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.

PJ City finished eighth in the 2019 season, improving to seventh twice consecutively in the next two seasons.

Vijay was also impressed by Maniam’s hard work that had led to him successfully strengthening players’ mentality to compete against teams with import players till they managed to remain in the Super League since 2019.

“It’s not easy to build a football team, it doesn’t take a month but years to bring results. I am happy to see Maniam build a good team and instill a strong mentality in his charges,” he added.

On FA Cup or Malaysia Cup targets, Vijay said it was too early for him to envision how they would perform in both competitions.

Mohamad Nasir Nasharudin, Muhammad Azfa Arif Mohd Sukri, Aron Kumar, Kumaahran Sadhasivam, Marcus Mah, Barathkumar, Shivan Pillay and Sarvindran are the eight players donning PJ City jerseys this season.

PJ City will open their 2022 Super League season with a match at home against Melaka United FC at the Petaling Jaya City Stadium this Saturday.

-- BERNAMA