Nor Saiful: National players jaded

FORMER national skipper Nor Saiful Zaini, who is coaching Kuala Lumpur in the Razak Cup, feels the standard of national players in the tournament is cause for worry.
Nor Saiful has six national players under his charge, and he feels they have not been performing up to par.
“National players, in my days, did not need to be instructed by a coach in the Razak Cup as they have played at the highest level including the Olympics and the World Cup.
“But today, I feel this tournament has reached a new low because even the national players in all the teams needed to be prodded and told what to do,” said Nor Saiful.
KL and Perak have qualified for the Division One final on Sunday, with one pool match against each other to complete today.
“I personally feel national players have not shown their true potential in this tournament yet, and there might be a few factors contributing to this.
“First of all, they just finished playing in the Malaysian Hockey League (MHL) and look like they needed a break, but were forced to play for their states in the Razak Cup.
“And then, I also feel that their heart is not in this tournament, and they would be rather be on a holiday after a tough MHL and then national training sessions,” said Nor Saiful.
On his last pool match against Perak: “I will not be pushing my players as they might pick up injuries or cards and make it more difficult for KL to lift the title.
“But then again, I would not want then to lose badly, as I want to keep their spirits high. Rightly said, this last en counter would be a warm-up for my charges before we attempt our 20th title charge,” said or Saiful.
RESULTS: GROUP A : Kedah 0 Sabah 2, Kelantan 3 Police 3; GROUP B: Perlis 2 Terengganu 2, Pahang 1 Selangor 1.
TODAY: Division One: Armed Forces v Negri (3pm), Perak v Kuala Lumpur (5pm), Penang v Malacca (7pm).
Division Two: Brunei v Terengganu (3pm), Pahang v Perlis (5pm).
All matches at Pitch I and II of the Kuantan Stadium.


DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pt
PERAK 5 5 0 0 12 2 15
K LUMPUR 5 4 1 0 16 3 13
JOHOR 6 3 1 2 11 10 10
PENANG 5 2 0 3 10 14 6
NEGRI 5 1 1 3 6 9 4
MALACCA 5 1 1 3 2 7 4
FORCES 5 0 0 5 5 17 0


DIVISION TWO
GROUP A

P W D L F A Pt
SINGAPORE 4 4 0 0 19 3 12
POLICE 4 2 1 1 10 9 7
KELANTAN 4 2 1 1 10 11 7
SABAH 4 1 0 3 5 14 3
KEDAH 4 0 0 4 1 10 0

GROUP B

P W D L F A Pt
PAHANG 3 2 1 0 15 4 7
SELANGOR 4 2 1 1 13 8 7
TERENGGANU 3 1 1 1 11 9 4
PERLIS 3 1 1 1 7 5 4
BRUNEI 3 0 0 3 0 20 0