Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
NEWLY appointed DPMM FC head coach Rui Capela Batista has settled in quickly after arriving in Brunei in the middle of February.
The 54-year-old began his reign with their first training session at the beginning of March.
"I have good expectations for our team to do a great job in the League," said Batista in an interview with BruSports News on Saturday.
"Most important now is to make a good choice of local players as well as foreign players. We will choose the best," he added.
Batista is a seasoned coach having plied his trade in Qatar for six years and then the Czech Republic before coming to the Sultanate.
This will be his first stint in the Southeast Asian region and he doesn't find any difficulties.
"Football is global so the adaptation is easy. The players understand the process and I'm very happy about the first week," said the Portuguese.
"Now we have trimmed our local pool to 20 players and next will be to select five foreigners.
"It is not easy because everybody puts in their best on the field and we don't have too much time," he added.
"This is all a new process with DPMM FC as there is a change in players and we have the young ones coming in.
"Pre-season is very important and we can't lose any more time," continued Batista.
The final roster for the 2024 season is slated to be ready by the first week of April - just over month before the Singapore Premier League kicks off on May 10.
When asked on his views on the SPL, Batista replied: "We had prepared some videos and the league has four to five clubs who are very good to fight for the championship."
Meanwhile, DPMM FC manager Md Ali Hj Momin is looking forward to what the new coach can bring to the table.
"Training has been good so far and we like what we have seen. We have a lot of new local players and hopefully this year we can do better.
DPMM FC finished seventh in the nine-team competition last season winning six and drawing five through 24 games.
The club have released six of their mainstays - Wardun Yussof, Md Hendra Azam Md Idris, Helmi Zambin, Razimie Ramlli, Azizi Ali Rahman and Ak Fakharazzi Pg Hj Hassan.
"We are looking to give a chance to younger players. After last year we realised our squad is ageing," said Ali.
"While playing in Singapore, other teams have a lot for young players. So we feel now is the time for us to move forward.
"And with the Brunei League up and running, we have been out to scout some young blood," he added.
"Some of these players have been with us for over 10 years and we are thankful for their services," concluded the DPMM FC manager.
