Leong endorses Geylang changes Eagles chairman backs GM Lim's decision but hopes to persuade coach Wong to stay

Source From Today

SINGAPORE - Geylang United will know today if former head coach Mike Wong will continue at the club, two days after he was relieved of his S-League duties.

The 47-year-old - who took charge of the team in 2009 - was dropped by Eagles general manager Lim Tong Hai, who handed the reins over to the club's Prime League coach V Kanan following their humiliating 7-1 defeat by Home United on Sunday.

It was their third loss in as many games since the start of the 2012 Great Eastern-Yeo's S-League last month and they now prop up the 13-team standings.

In what is seen as a demotion, Wong was offered Kanan's job but he held back from accepting the post, claiming it ran against the terms of his contract and wanted the club to clarify.

Speaking to Today, Geylang chairman Leong Kok Fann said he met with Wong yesterday to try and convince the former head coach to stay on with the club.

Leong said Wong remains integral in Geylang's plans and wanted him to build a solid base of young players that could help return the club to the force they once were in Singapore football.

Leong, a Lions midfielder during the '70s and '80s, took over the chairmanship of Geylang in January from Patrick Ang, who retired after 28 years at the club.

He insisted that while he stayed out of the day-to-day running of the club, Lim had his and the Geylang management committee's full support in appointing Kanan as the new head coach.

"As chairman and committee members, we help steer the club and provide advice to Lim and his management team," said Leong.

"We have our own full-time jobs but they are the executives, and must be given the latitude to manage and make decisions.

"In the coaching staff changes, Lim made his recommendations and sought my advice. I told him what I thought but he was left to make a decision and has my full support."

While the Geylang chairman is confident in the abilities of the 42-year-old Lim, he wants the club to adopt a corporate culture where the performance of everyone at the club can be measured.

Leong said that while he inherited from Ang an infrastructure that is one of the best in the S-League - from the clubhouse to the football programmes - the club needs to be run professionally.

Said Leong: "There will be KPIs for everyone from the management team to the kit man. For players, the coaching panel must review their performance after every match.

"Those who run the club, perhaps every three months because we need to know if we have the right person for each post, there must be a job-fit. But all that I want to put in place takes time, some people will accept them, others may not."