Tuesday, January 6, 2015
DPMM FC head coach Steve Kean wants to go one step further this year by winning the treble.
The Scotsman led the club to their best season to date last year in his first year in charge by finishing as runners-up in the Singapore League (S-League), champions in the Singapore League Cup and claiming third in Singapore Cup.
This year, though, the target is all three cups.
“My expectation is to have a better season than last,” said Kean yesterday ahead of the S-League season which is expected to kick-off in February.
“Last season was excellent for us as we were on top of league most of the time, but unfortunately the week which mattered the most, we didn’t win the game.
“Our first goal (this season) is to try to do better and win the S-League. We are proud to be the Singapore League Cup holders and we want to retain that.
“We are also looking to do better in FA Cup. We got into the semi-finals but we want to go to final and win it this year.
“There is no shame in setting our goals very high. We will build an even stronger side this year,” continued the former Blackburn Rovers manager in an interview with the media after DPMM FC’s first training session of the year at the Jerudong Mini Stadium.
Kean will be looking at shaping up a strong defensive unit again this season – something that was lacking in the later stages of last year’s campaign.
The team started off strongly last season by notching seven clean sheets in the first round of the S-League before things went downhill for them.
“Our aim is to concede fewer goals,” said Kean.
“We will always score goals, but too many times especially away from home, we had to score three or four goals to win a game.
“If we score one goal away, it should be enough to win.
“We have to start a process from the back to ensure we get more clean sheets.
“We have to be a team that is hard to score against, and it will be good platform to build the rest of the side,” continued Kean.
The team got over a month off from training at the pitch but they have been working hard at building up their physique at the Reebok Crossfit 673 gym in Jerudong.
“We have worked hard for the off-season,” said Kean.
“The lads have been going three sessions per week in the gym (and) they have come back strong, sharp and are refreshed.
“It was not a case where we were playing 11 vs 11. The boys got time away from this place and got gains in their body with gym sessions,” he added.
In terms of foreign players, DPMM FC will be looking at signing three other import players to fill up the five-import quota set out by the S-League.
They have retained the duo of Irish midfielder Joe Gamble and Bosnian defender Boris Raspudic from last season and Kean is expecting to find more quality imports to compliment the roster.
“We’ve got a spread across the board from goalkeepers to defenders and strikers as well as midfield players,” said Kean.
“For any club it is about looking at people and making sure they can strengthen the squad.
“If they are not any better than what we have, we will look elsewhere.
“Every year we try to keep it fresh.
“We are always looking forward and have to keep improving,” concluded the Scotsman.
The first event for the club will be the try outs for the setting up of their youth team (17-18 years old) this Sunday at the Jerudong Mini Stadium.
Registration begins at 7.30am.
DPMM FC will also looking at playing friendly matches in Thailand later this month.
The Brunei Times
The Scotsman led the club to their best season to date last year in his first year in charge by finishing as runners-up in the Singapore League (S-League), champions in the Singapore League Cup and claiming third in Singapore Cup.
This year, though, the target is all three cups.
“My expectation is to have a better season than last,” said Kean yesterday ahead of the S-League season which is expected to kick-off in February.
“Last season was excellent for us as we were on top of league most of the time, but unfortunately the week which mattered the most, we didn’t win the game.
“Our first goal (this season) is to try to do better and win the S-League. We are proud to be the Singapore League Cup holders and we want to retain that.
“We are also looking to do better in FA Cup. We got into the semi-finals but we want to go to final and win it this year.
“There is no shame in setting our goals very high. We will build an even stronger side this year,” continued the former Blackburn Rovers manager in an interview with the media after DPMM FC’s first training session of the year at the Jerudong Mini Stadium.
Kean will be looking at shaping up a strong defensive unit again this season – something that was lacking in the later stages of last year’s campaign.
The team started off strongly last season by notching seven clean sheets in the first round of the S-League before things went downhill for them.
“Our aim is to concede fewer goals,” said Kean.
“We will always score goals, but too many times especially away from home, we had to score three or four goals to win a game.
“If we score one goal away, it should be enough to win.
“We have to start a process from the back to ensure we get more clean sheets.
“We have to be a team that is hard to score against, and it will be good platform to build the rest of the side,” continued Kean.
The team got over a month off from training at the pitch but they have been working hard at building up their physique at the Reebok Crossfit 673 gym in Jerudong.
“We have worked hard for the off-season,” said Kean.
“The lads have been going three sessions per week in the gym (and) they have come back strong, sharp and are refreshed.
“It was not a case where we were playing 11 vs 11. The boys got time away from this place and got gains in their body with gym sessions,” he added.
In terms of foreign players, DPMM FC will be looking at signing three other import players to fill up the five-import quota set out by the S-League.
They have retained the duo of Irish midfielder Joe Gamble and Bosnian defender Boris Raspudic from last season and Kean is expecting to find more quality imports to compliment the roster.
“We’ve got a spread across the board from goalkeepers to defenders and strikers as well as midfield players,” said Kean.
“For any club it is about looking at people and making sure they can strengthen the squad.
“If they are not any better than what we have, we will look elsewhere.
“Every year we try to keep it fresh.
“We are always looking forward and have to keep improving,” concluded the Scotsman.
The first event for the club will be the try outs for the setting up of their youth team (17-18 years old) this Sunday at the Jerudong Mini Stadium.
Registration begins at 7.30am.
DPMM FC will also looking at playing friendly matches in Thailand later this month.
The Brunei Times
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