COACH Ong Kim Swee will unofficially mark his return to club football when Sabah travel to Kelana Jaya today for their Malaysia Cup Group D match against PJ City FC at MBPJ Stadium.
Kim Swee may not be on the Sabah bench today as his term as technical director of FA of Malaysia only ends on Friday.
However, the former national Under-23 coach has been coaching Sabah in Kota Kinabalu since last week.
The Rhinos hope to start brightly in the Malaysia Cup today following a 10-match winless run in the recent Super League.
Kim Swee is feeling at home at Sabah as he had once played for the Rhinos.
The 51-year-old's job has been made easier as some of the Sabah players had played for him when he was coaching the national youth and senior teams.
Among those he had worked with before are defender Nazirul Naim Che Hashim and forwards N. Thanabalan and Amri Yahyah.
"However, it does not mean they will be automatic choices for matches. I need to be fair to everyone, and they need to fight for their spots in the team.
"Before I had joined the team in Sabah, there were talks on how I should manage the players. Yes, I have taken their suggestions into account, but it does not mean I will accept them.
"The players have to show that they are fighters. Everyone will be judged on merit. If some do not perform, then I am sorry to say (they will not play)," said Kim Swee.
Kim Swee is using the Malaysia Cup to prepare a solid team for next season.
"I am still analysing the team's strengths and weaknesses as I had only joined the team a week ago.
"We have to be realistic. The team have to show progress before we can set targets.
"The players have to adapt to my coaching style and expectations.
"However, what I have seen so far are positives from the players. We do not have a good record against PJ City, so I hope to see some progress tomorrow. We also cannot afford to underestimate Premier League side Kelantan," he added.
In another Group D match, reigning champions Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) play Kelantan at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium today.
Kelantan striker Nurshamil Abd Ghani, the local top scorer in the Premier League with eight goals, believes his team can qualify for the quarter-finals.
"We do not want to make the numbers in the group. We are confident that we can compete against JDT, PJ City and Sabah," said Nurshamil.
