The weight and responsibility of leading The Red Eagles to winning trophies fell on the shoulders of Nidzam Adhza, after Kedah’s former head coach Tan Cheng Hoe’s abrupt resignation from the club in early April.
Tan Cheng Hoe tendered his resignation to the Kedah Football Association (KFA) after he was earmarked fort he position of assistant head coach for the national football team.
After Tan Cheng Hoe’s departure, Nidzam Adhza had to step up as caretaker coach to fill in some big shoes. There were a lot of questions about whether he could get the job done — but now that Kedah is in the FA Cup final, the popular opinion seems to be that Nidzam Adzha should be promoted to Kedah’s head coach.
KFA General Manager Datuk Jeffrey Low has confirmed that Nidzam will stay on as the caretaker head coach until the end of the season. And if Kedah wins, Datuk Jeffrey Low promised to “figure something out” for the former Kedah player.
As of now, Nidzam will remain in the hot seat and continue to lead the team throughout their Super League and Malaysia Cup campaigns.
“The management and the players are very comfortable with him. So there’s no reason why to we should get another person to replace him,” said Jeffrey.
“If he wins the FA Cup, we’ll definitely have to plan for next year whether to sign him on as the head coach. But most likely, he will remain with the team as there is another year left in his contract,” said Jeffrey.
When asked about how he managed to lead Kedah to the FA Cup final, Nidzam humbly stated he is just continuing Tan Cheng Hoe’s work with the team.
“I already told the players that the coach does not determine the game. To me, the starting XI on the pitch will determine the result whether we win or lose. Whatever happens, I’m proud of this achievement with the help of the management and the players commitment as we’re here once again.” Nizam explained.
“For the players, they are comfortable playing at the Shah Alam Stadium. They don’t feel the pressure. When it comes to their mentality, every match they see is a final. So they will perform like they did in their previous matches,” said Nidzam.
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