Petaling Jaya City are still spending wisely ahead of their second season in Malaysia’s top tier, insisted head coach K. Devan.
Petaling Jaya (PJ) City boss K. Devan is happy that the 2020 Malaysia Super League season will be kicking off later than usual.
In the past years, Malaysia’s top tier normally kicked off in late January or early February, but this season will see the league starting on February 29 instead.
“The later start to the league allows us to conduct more organised pre-season preparations , as this year’s roster features a lot of new players. We need more time.
“We have retained only eight players from the previous season including two foreign players as we have managed to sign more quality players this time around, as well as balancing out the younger and experienced players ratio,” said the two-time Super League winner.
He however denies the notion that the club who made their top tier debut last year has spent big money to prepare for their second season.
He has signed the likes of M Kogileswaran, Amer Saidin, K Reuben dan Syazwan Zaipol Bahari to bolster their squad.
“There may be a slight increase as compared to last season when we worked with a smaller budget, but the management knows how to control the spendings. We don’t intend to best the big boys but we have paid more for several positions, while reducing spendings in others.
“What’s important is that the club is professional in safeguarding their image and prestige, by ensuring that it doesn’t owe anyone unpaid wage,” said Devan in an interview published by the Malaysian Football League.
