GEORGETOWN: Zainal Abidin Hassan has been retained as Penang coach for their campaign in the Premier League, which starts next month.
The former international thanked the FA of Penang (FAP) for offering him a season long contract on Tuesday.
Zainal has pledged to help the club finish top two next season for a Super League promotion spot.
“We had a disastrous 2017 as several things outside football affected the club’s performance in the league.
“We hope to make an immediate return to the Super League, but to do that, we need to finish top two in the upcoming season.
“We have a good blend of senior and junior players, and I am confident we can achieve our target,” said Zainal after his unveiling as Penang coach on Tuesday.
For the new season, Zainal has promoted five President’s Cup players in Nurfais Johari, Hazrull Hafiz, Khairul Akmal Rokisham, Amir Qayyum and K. Thivandaran to his senior team.
Among those retained from the 2017 squad are 2016 Fifa Puskas Award winner Faiz Subri and Gambian striker Sanna Nyassi.
“Penang have many players with talent but sadly we have lost several youngsters to other teams,” he added