KUALA LUMPUR: Kedah coach Ramon Marcote believes that it is still too early for The Red Eagles to be labelled as title contenders who can give defending Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) a run for their money.
In fact, the Spanish coach explained that The Red Eagles still have a long season ahead even though they have managed to recover from poor form which they suffered at the beginning of this season.
“We focus on one match to the next. I cannot talk about what is going to happen in July because it is still far ahead.
“What is on my mind at present is to win one match at a time, though we do hope to win the league,” he told reporters after the hard-fought 4-3 win over PKNS FC at Shah Alam Stadium yesterday night.
Kedah endured a disappointing start to the season when they lost 2-1 to JDT in the charity shield match and 3-1 to Perak in the following match.
However, Marcote’s boys managed to pick themselves up and avert a third straight defeat when they registered their first win of the season by downing Super League newcomers PKNP FC 1-0 on February 11 before notching up their second straight win against PKNS.
Marcote believes that their recent good performance of two wins in a row has boosted the team’s morale and confidence.
“We dominated the match against PKNS and created a lot of chances before we eventually managed to wrap up the win. Of course it has definitely given us the belief that we can perform even better after this,” said Marcote.
Meanwhile, PKNS coach, Datuk K. Rajagobal admitted that the absence of forward Safee Sali and defensive stalwart Zac Anderson affected their performance.
He added that mistakes made by their defensive line were also a factor behind their defeat to Kedah, which meant an end to their short lived unbeaten record for the season.
“I knew that this match would be a close and keenly contested one, and Kedah employed a game of short passes with quality players in every position.
“We lost Anderson, a pillar of strength for us in defense who leads the backline. In fact, we gave too much space which Kedah exploited to execute attacking moves,” he said.