Failure to take Negri Sembilan to the Super League came with a high price for head coach Mat Zan Aris who is being rested from the prestigious Malaysia Cup competition.

The former international who coached Terengganu and Melaka has been rested since Negri’s last Premier League match which was against UiTM FC – a match which Negri needed to win to earn promotion to the elite Super League.

The match ended in a 1-1 draw which saw Negri finish sixth in the Premier League.

Mat Zan’s assistant Zaki Sheikh Ahmad will handle Negri’s Malaysia Cup campaign. He will be assisted by Negri’s President’s Cup coach Sazali Saidon.

Negri team manager Khairollah Abdul Latiff confirmed that Mat Zan is being rested from the Malaysia Cup campaign without elaborating further on the matter.

For the Malaysia Cup, Negri is drawn in a tough Group A which has newly crowned FA Cup champions Kedah, Terengganu, and Selangor outfit PKNS FC. For the record, Terengganu finished runners-up to Perak in the Malaysia Cup last year.

Negri plays their first two matches in the Malaysia Cup at home at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi – against Kedah this Saturday followed by PKNS FC on August 7. – BY RIZAL ABDULLAH 

- Advertisement -