Ex- Sabah coach Peter Butler has been selected to take charge of Kelantan in their Premier League battle next season.
Malaysian football fans might remember Butler as the head coach who rejuvenated the Sabah team, and brought them to the pinnacle of the Super League – where matches usually draw crowds of 20-30 thousand. Extra advantages that he have is he can speak well in Bahasa Melayu that for sure will benefits youngster in Kelantan.
Kelantan FA (Kafa) president Tan Sri Annuar Musa has picked the 42-year-old former West Ham United midfielder to lead the east coast giants to greater heights.
Kafa council member Azman Ibrahim said they wanted a candidate who was familiar with the local scene and the Englishman fitted the bill, having coached Sabah for two seasons (2003-04).
“Butler is with Indonesian club Balik Papan and should serve out his contract before moving here,” said Azman.
Kafa are also on the sentinel for the services of national players.
“The departure of the foreign players has left a vacuum. We need quality players and national players interested to join us are welcome for discussions,” said Azman.
Last season Kelantan had two coaches. Former national coach Norizan Bakar quit after the Premier League campaign and Frenchman Regis Laguesse took over for the Malaysia Cup competition. For the record, Kelantan had a fine run in the Premier League and just missed out on promotion to the Super League when they finished third in the 13-team competition behind Kuala Muda Naza and KL Plus.
The team chalked up a 100% home wins record at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Baru.
Butler was sacked as coach of Persiba last week
http://jakartacasual.blogspot.com/2008/09/english-butler-available.html
thanks me for the news. It seems Butler know that he have no future with Persiba due to poor performance by his team. So its clear why he take the Kelantan job.
Butler have tremendous record while managing Sabah few years back. I wonder if can he do the same with Kelantan