Kota Kinabalu: Deputy Chief Minister and Sabah Football Association (Safa) president Datuk Shahelmey Yahya said it is still early to make any judgement on the Rhinos after only three games into the new Super League season.
He believed the team has shown improvement in terms of consistency even though they only managed to draw in all three opening matches.
Sabah FC began the season with a 1-1 away draw to Kuala Lumpur City FC followed by two home draws against Kelantan The Real Warriors (0-0) and Melaka FC (1-1).
“Although we have yet to win games, it is still early in the season, and we can see the consistency and some improvement to the team.
“Hopefully we will be able to collect more points with victories in the coming matches,” he said after “The Rise of the Rinos” event to launch Rhinos’ new jerseys for the 2025/26 season on Thursday.
He added that the team will be targeting a top five finish at the end of the season and he also hoped they will progress to the next round in the FA Cup competition with a win over Bunga Raya FC in the round of 16 second leg tie at home on September 15.
Sabah FC had earlier thrashed the A 1 Semi-Pro outfit 6-0 in the first leg away tie in early August.
Meanwhile, head coach Jean-Paul de Marigny said they will utilise the international break to work on the players.
“The break gives us a good opportunity to work not much on the tactical aspect, but more on the physical and technical,” he said. He is also optimistic that the team will be able to improve and start winning in coming matches.
“The players need to be more confident with the ball, create more opportunities and obviously be ruthless in front of goal and also in defending, and once we start improving and be able to score more goals, we will start to win more games.
“We also know our responsibility to represent Sabah FC, so It is important to maximise our full potential to where it will take us,” he added.
