SABAH coach Ong Kim Swee has many players on his wish list and plans to raid the M-League to strengthen his team for the new season.
And it could be tough for some M-League teams to stop their players from joining the Rhinos.
Kim Swee holds a slight advantage over the other M-League coaches as he had coached some of the top M-League players during his 14-year tenure with the FA of Malaysia (FAM).
The 51-year-old had coached the national senior and youth teams and was FAM technical director before joining Sabah on Oct 1.
His easy-going professional attitude could just be the telling factor in enticing players from other clubs to join Sabah.
Among his achievements as a national youth coach were winning the 2009 Premier League, the 2011 Indonesia Sea Games and the 2013 Merdeka Cup.
His youth teams were also runners-up at the 2007 and 2008 Youth Cup and the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Sea Games.
Kim Swee's dream is to see the Rhinos make an impact one day, and the target next season is top six in the Super League. This year, they finished ninth in the league.
He made a minor impact this season with Sabah when he led them to the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Cup.
They, however, lost 3-0 on aggregate to Melaka United.
"Of course, we have plans to recruit new players," said Kim Swee yesterday.
"However, for those still involved in the Malaysia Cup, we will not approach them yet as we do not wish to disrupt their team's preparation."
"As it is my first coaching experience with a club, I am not sure whether my targets will join me.
"However, I will try my best to persuade them."
However, Kim Swee claims that his club do not have a big budget for the new season.
"We will sign players according to our budget. We will not make huge offers," he added.
It is understood that Kim Swee is targetting Melaka United goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, Kedah captain Baddrol Bakhtiar and Johor Darul Ta'zim II midfielder Irfan Fazail.
"We are negotiating with a few players, but I cannot disclose the details yet.
"Basically, we need at least three top players to guide the others," he added.
Kim Swee, however, could be looking at a bigger pool of players to sign next season.
Farizal Marlias, Aidil Zafuan Abd Radzak, Zaquan Adha Radzak, Azmi Muslim, Muslim Ahmad, Mahali Jasuli, K. Gurusamy, Khyril Muhymeen Zambri, Safee Sali, Wan Zaharulnizam Wan Zakaria, Nazmi Faiz Mansor, Izham Tarmizi and Wan Zack Haikal Wan Noor had worked with Kim Swee in the past.
This year, former national senior and youth players Nazirul Naim Che Hashim, N. Thanabalan and Amri Yahyah had donned Sabah colours.