GEORGE TOWN: Cash-strapped Perak can hit the road again – at least for the next game – thanks to the generosity of their ardent fans.
Coach Steve Darby and his men were struggling to raise funds to make the trip to Kangar to take on Perlis in their Malaysia Cup Group C match at the Utama Stadium tonight.
Luckily for them the fans have chipped in an undisclosed amount of money to pay for the trip.
Darby, however, said that this should not have happened in the first place.
“This is not the way to do business. Anyway, we have no choice but to live on such handouts,” said Darby in a telephone interview from Ipoh yesterday.
“This is not the first time either. We also had to rely on such handouts for both our earlier away trips – to Kuantan to take on Pahang and to Johor Baru to face Johor PG last week.”
Perak claimed that their problems were due to the State Government failing to provide them with the RM2.8mil allocation promised this season.
The team are in a real mess financially, with the players and team officials having gone without salaries since March.
Despite their off-field distraction, Darby is pleasantly surprised to see his players still delivering the goods on the pitch.
Perak have won one and drawn three matches to stay fourth in Group C with six points. UPB-MyTeam lead the standings with 12 points, followed by Pahang and Perlis (both on seven points). Johor PG are fifth with four points while winless Armed Forces prop up the table.
“I am proud of my players for not allowing these (financial) problems, especially the continuous non-payment of salaries, to affect their performances,” said Darby.
“This is the best way for us to show our appreciation to all our fans who have chipped in to help us.”
The Englishman, however, is not without problems.
He was forced to leave behind three first-choice players – hitman Khalid Jamlus (knee injury), Chilean playmaker Jorge Munoz (knee) and midfielder Razali Umar (sick) – for the trip to Kangar.
Darby, though, can take comfort from the fact that Carlos Caceres has recovered from his knee injury which ruled him out of three matches, and is ready to face Perlis.
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