Rajan will leave sentiments at home

AFTER 10 years of siting on the Tenaga Nasional bench, National Juniors coach K. Rajan is now plotting for their downfall in the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) which starts on Dec 5.
And he will not allow sentiments to get the better of him.
“There is no question of sentiments creeping in, as I will be planning for a win, and it is not impossible judging from our League encounters,” said Rajan.
In the League, National Juniors lost 3-1, and drew 2-2 in the return leg.
“Tenaga have a solid defence, but their forward line has been severely hit after Selva (S. Selvaraju) pulled a ham string.
“However, it will not be an easy encounter as Tenaga, even with retired internationals, have always proven to be deadly in the knock-out stages,” said Rajan.
Rajan knows the Tenaga players like the back of his hands, and Tenaga proved their mettle last season when they limped into the final, but beat Ernst & Young on penalty strokes in the final.
“It will be experience (Tenaga) versus fitness, and since we will be playing in a two-leg format, we will have to go all out in the first match, as Tenaga are masters of upset in the return leg,” said Rajan.
The National Juniors are preparing for the Junior World Cup next year, and the MHL is a selection of sorts, as Rajan plans to trim his squad of 30 by January.
“The boys know the score, those who do not perform in the MHL will be axed by January, so they better give their best in the knock-out stages.”
QUARTER-FINALS -- Dec 5: Ernst & Young v Royal Malay Regiment (National Stadium), National Juniors v Tenaga Nasional (National Stadium), JLJ v Sapura (Tun Razak Stadium); Dec 10: Nur Insafi v Maybank (Penang).
RETURN LEG -- Dec 7: Royal Malay Regiment v Ernst & Young (Tun Razak), Tenaga Nasional v National Juniors (KLHA), Sapura v JLJ (KLHA); Dec 13: Maybank v Nur Isnafi (Seremban II).