Kitchee boss vows summer spending spree in bid to regain Hong Kong crowns, club will go ‘back to the drawing board’
- Kitchee interim head coach Kim Dong-jin unclear over future, and ‘does not know’ if he wants to stick around
- Club owner Ken Ng-kin says he is ‘always having conversations’ with potential head coaches
Kitchee owner Ken Ng-kin vowed the splash the cash over the summer and said the club would “go back to the drawing board” after a miserable season that saw them lose their Premier League, FA Cup and Sapling Cup trophies.
A year on from treble-winning dominance, Ng said no decision had been made over the future of interim head coach Kim Dong-jin, who “did not know” if he would remain with the club beyond their final league match, against Lee Man next Sunday.
Kim added that he was unsure if he even wanted to stay with the perennial league champions, while Ng revealed he was “always having discussions” with potential coaches.
Determined to reassert his club’s domestic stature, the president said the playing budget for next season would be “as much as it needs”, but had opted to delay any announcement about managerial changes, or player departures, until after Hong Kong’s Top Footballer Awards on May 28.
“We have one more game, then we will go back to the drawing board, and see what needs to be done to try to regain the league and cup,” Ng said.
“[Difficult periods are] normal in football, it is nothing to make a big deal about … I always have discussions [with possible successors to Kim], but I am not ready to talk about that in public, or with the media.”
Kim already appears to be a man on the way out, and was publicly humiliated last week, when assistant manager Edgar Cardoso took charge as Kitchee were knocked out of the FA Cup by Eastern, and beaten by Rangers in the Sapling Cup.
Cardoso was the lone presence barking orders when Kitchee won 3-0 at Southern on Saturday, too. On all three occasions, Kim remained fixed to the bench, offering minimal input.
The 41-year-old from Portugal, who has coached youth teams at Benfica and Shakhtar Donetsk, and managed Qatar national age-group sides, joined Kitchee as director of elite youth football back in September. He stepped into the senior team post when Kitchee fired Alex Chu Chi-kwong, and installed Kim as interim boss.
Kim “did not want to comment” on either the change in pecking order, or whether he was consulted on the decision.
Ng insisted he had chatted to both men about the move and “we decided Edgar [Cardoso] would step up to be the frontman of the team for the final four matches”.
“It is nothing earth shattering. Edgar has always been in charge of training, he is not doing something new or exceptional. They are both doing good jobs.”
Despite the miserable form on the pitch, Ng said he was “not overly concerned” by Kitchee’s recent slump, and cited Chelsea’s moderate English Premier League season to underline his point that “the richest teams, with the biggest resources don’t always win”.
“If what you try doesn’t work, you have to find a formula and tweak it until it does work,” Ng added. “We have had some bad moments, and mistakes, but that is football. It is going to take a bit of time [for desired improvement].”
Rumours have swirled regarding player unrest, but Ng said there was “no friction in the changing room”, although admitted, “there are different opinions when you don’t have good results, some people think we could do certain things better”.
Fans have been far from happy too, booing the team after the defeats to Eastern and Rangers, but Ng said he had no intention of explaining himself to them, comparing the inner workings of the club to an iceberg, where “much of the stuff [we deal with] is under the water”.
“Why would fans expect me to come out and explain everything about players and staff?” he said. “When there are changes, we will announce them. You cannot manage a club in public.”
