# Kedah head coach uses RM60K personal savings for his Pro-Licence
# Cheng Hoe heads to China again later this month to complete Pro-Licence course
Kedah head coach Tan Cheng Hoe will be well armed with some latest football know how in terms of coaching when the new M-League season begins next month.
But before the newly promoted Red Eagles play their first match in the elite Super League the former national assistant coach to Datuk K. Rajagobal will head to Guangzhou, China once again to complete his final phase of his Pro Licence course.
“I will head back to China for another 10-days on January 23 for the last phase of the 30-days course,” said Cheng Hoe from Alor Setar.
The former international is spending some RM60,000 from his own pocket for his Pro Licence and it will be money well spent in pursuit of his coaching career.
Kedah start their first phase of training for the new season in Alor Setar on Monday (Jan 4) and Cheng Hoe hopes to have a good turnout.
The Premier League champions and Malaysia Cup runners-up will have a bigger squad for this year’s M-League campaign with five players from the now disbanded Harimau Muda squad joining the Red Eagles.
The five are goalkeeper Farhan Abu Bakar, Syawal Nordin (defender), Ariff Farhan Isa (defender/midfielder), Amirul Hisyam Awang Kechik (midfielder) and Asri Mardzuki (midfielder).
Kedah have also signed up a new hitman Carlos Eduardo de Souza (Kahe) from Brazil as a replacement for Nigerian Chidi Edeh whose contract was not renewed,
Chidi scored 14 goals for Kedah in all competitions but Cheng Hoe revealed that the Nigerian could not last the pace in the tough M-League.
“After playing a match Chidi had to rest for four days to play another match because of his injuries. He is injury prone and keeping him would have been a liability. That is why we released him.”
The Premier League champions, however, retained three other foreigners – Bang Seung Hwan (Korea), midfielder Liridon Krasniqi (Kosovo) and striker Sandro da Silva (Brazil).
“This year we have a bigger squad and hopefully the newcomers will be able to adjust fast to our style of play. The Super League will be tough and we have to raise our game to a higher level,” added Cheng Hoe.
In the Malaysia Cup final played at the Shah Alam Stadium on December 12 the Red Eagles fell to a 2-0 defeat to Selangor on a soggy and heavy pitch. Cheng Hoe flew back from China for the final and returned the next day.
“We have retained about 90 per cent of the players from this year’s squad. The Super League will be a tough competition but we have faith in the players who did well in the Malaysia Cup to reach the final.”
Kedah completed back to back treble in 2007 and 2008 by winning the League Cup, the FA Cup and the prestigious Malaysia Cup in one season – the only team to have achieved that in Malaysian football.
