KUALA LUMPUR: Premier League team, Kuala Lumpur needs a new coach to replace Ismail Zakaria, who has decided to take a break from football.
Kuala Lumpur Football Association (KLFA) general secretary Nokman Mustaffa confirmed that Ismail had asked to be relieved from his duties after just one year in charge.
Nokman said Ismail, who extended his contract by a year just before the 2016 season ended, informed KLFA president Datuk Seri Adnan Md Ikshan of his intention to take a break from the game.
KLFA accepted Ismail's decision at an executive committee meeting in Putrajaya on Tuesday night and the search for a replacement has begun in earnest.
"He has not sent in a resignation letter, he only asked verbally if he could take a break and we agreed to his request," said Nokman on Wednesday.
"We will now look for a new coach but we still need Ismail to monitor training as he was the one who brought in several new players."
The newcomers include former national team forward Manaf Mamat from Kelantan, defenders Azmeer Yusof (Kedah) and Hisyamuddin Shaari (Perak) and winger Ashri Chuchu (Sarawak), who all joined Kuala Lumpur on Ismail's recommendation.
Former three-time Malaysia Cup winners Kuala Lumpur only retained eight players from last season and with the addition of seven new signings, have still some way to go to build a squad capable of challenging for Premier League honours in 2017.
Nokman added that KLFA's preference is for a foreign coach with intimate knowledge of Malaysian football.
"We won't mind if the foreign coach has not coached here but has experience in other countries in the region like Indonesia or Thailand," said Nokman.
After an unbeaten eight-match start to the year, Kuala Lumpur's bid for promotion to the Super League floundered on the back of just two wins in their last 11 league games.
However, Ismail did lead the city team to the FA Cup quarter-finals and qualification for the Malaysia Cup, in both instances for the first time since 2011.