KUALA LUMPUR – Penang FC’s newly appointed head coach, Akmal Rizal, has pledged to put past issues aside and move forward in elevating the team’s performance for the imminent Malaysia Super League season.
The northwest club, affectionately known as the Black Panthers by fans, went through back-to-back disappointing campaigns in the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 seasons.
They finished in 12th and 10th, respectively, resulting in long-serving technical director Kamal Khalid and former team manager Ong Eng Hua facing exits.
Since then, the club has brought in Akmal and newly appointed technical director Merzagua Abderrazak to lead the team to a midtable finish for the new season.
The 42-year-old Akmal, a former national footballer, assumed the head coach role in January of this year after serving as the club’s assistant and under-21 coach from 2020 to early this year.
Speaking to Scoop, Akmal said that he is ready to comply with the key performance index (KPI) set by the club’s management, citing it is an achievable target.
He also hopes to shape the club into a formidable side by ensuring that all his players are on the same wavelength as him.
“Some issues were happening in the club before I came on board, but I have never paid attention to any of those issues. Since coming on board, I have done my best to solve some of the issues by giving more debuts to more youngsters in the club in the final few matches last season.
“As a coach, it’s my duty to comply with the KPI set by the club’s management. I’m going to take it as a challenge to elevate the standard of football in this club and bring it back to how it was in 2021 when we finished third in the Super League.
“The KPI looks realistic, and we don’t have many import players compared to other clubs, where they have around 6 to 9 of them. Hence, finishing in the midtable is something achievable for us.
“But as a coach, I can’t guarantee anything, we can only achieve the target that has been set if we all work together to reach our goal,” said Akmal when contacted.
To date, the club has signed two foreign players – Brazilian-born Rodrigo Dias from Kuwait-based Khaitan Sporting Club FC and Ghanaian-born Richmond Ankrah, on loan from Selangor FC.
Penang FC was won the league three times (1982, 1998, and 2001), the FA Cup once (2002), and the Malaysia Cup four times (1953, 1954, 1958, and 1974).
This season’s Super League campaign is expected to kick off on May 10. – April 28, 2024