MELAKA head coach Zainal Abidin Hassan (picture) is confident that his players will be in prime physical condition even if the Super League were to resume in August instead of September as planned.

Zainal Abidin, whose team was given permission to resume training on June 15, believes his men will be ready no matter what the Malaysian Football League (MFL) decides with regard to the starting date of the league.

“Whatever the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and MFL decide on, now that we have resumed training, I believe we have the ample time to be prepare the team.

“I welcome any decision made, although I can’t deny that if the league resumed earlier (in August), it will be a bit of a relief in terms of match fixtures as it won’t be so congested,” he said in a statement issued by MFL yesterday.

Bernama earlier reported that FAM secretary-general Stuart Ramalingam as saying that there is a possibility that professional football activities, including the Malaysia League, might resume sooner than expected, depending on the latest Covid-19 development in the country.

Zainal Abidin said the biggest challenge he faced under the new normal training session was in giving tactical briefings to his players since they have been divided into three groups in accordance with the MFL’s standard operating procedure which limits each training session to just 10 players.

On a separate note, Terengganu FC head coach Mohd Nafuzi Mohd Zain is thrilled to have most of his players back in training, but there’s one player he hopes to have back soonest possible — key import and winger Faris Ramli — as the team prepares for the resumption of the Super League. — Bernama