HAVING "many" national players doesn't seem to be a good thing for the Selangor Super League squad.
Malaysia will compete in six international competitions this year: Asian Cup qualifiers, AFF Cup, AFF Under-22 Championship, Sea Games, Under-23 Asian Cup and Asian Games.
And Selangor are a major supplier of national players for the senior and Under-22 teams. As players leave their club for national training and assignments, this is going to have an adverse effect on the Red Giants.
As things stand, Selangor are braced for a season with a "depleted" squad due to the national agenda.
The Red Giants experienced this situation last year, when they had to "give" eight to 10 players to the national under-22 team and four players to the national senior team.
As a result, Selangor had to manage without some of their players for the Malaysia Cup, and were knocked out in the quarter-finals.
Having seen the adverse effects of national call-ups and the Covid-19 pandemic, Selangor aim to have better planning this season.
"I think there will be a rotation of players but this season we will adjust accordingly... see what is needed for specific games," said Selangor team manager Mahfizul Rusydin Rashid.
"We are also taking into consideration the possibilities of competitions being postponed due to Covid-19."
On their players attending national call-ups, Mahfizul said: "We hope we can manage it and not sacrifice the team's quality. If a particular player is in the plan for the game, he can change the quality of the team. So hopefully, we can retain the quality we're aiming for."
Selangor midfielder Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi turned out for both the national senior and Under-22 teams last year.
Mahfizul said: "We have players who play in both the senior and Under-22 teams. It's a matter of managing players from burning out as well as avoiding injuries. I think with some of our new signings, it is manageable.
"Mukhairi is somebody whom we looked at for the first 11 halfway into the season, but we also have Safuwan Baharudin, Baha Abdelrahman and Brendan Gan who are capable in the centre."