Stanley commits to the Rhinos
Published on: Wednesday, January 03, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: President Cupper Stanley Sulong has turned down a Prisons Department post to play for Sabah Rhinos in the Premier League next season.The 21-year-old Tenom lad from Kampung Sungei Api said the decision to reject the offer to become a prison officer was his following discussion with his family."It was my own final decision after consulting all my family members. It was a tempting offer to work for Prison department but I realised I want to achieve more in football.
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"I will work hard for a place in the first team and my ultimate target is to play for the country in the future," he said after team training session at the Likas Stadium, Tuesday morning.The former SM St Anthony student who can play on both flanks in midfield was first spotted by Rhinos head coach Jelius Ating after his impressive display in the Chief Minister Cup competition in 2015 playing for Tenom.His team lost 1-3 to Sandakan in the final with him scoring the only goal from a spot-kick.He was recruited a year later into the Youth Cup team coached by Jelius, and in 2017 he was also the first choice for the Justin Ganai-coached President Cup squad.
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Meanwhile, Jelius was delighted with the decision by the youngster to put State honours first."Stanley is a potential player. He has been under me since 2016 in the youth squad and he was also featured regularly in the President Cup last year.
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"I decided to call him to join us after I took charge of the senior team even though he is still eligible to play for the President Cup squad this new season."I gave him the chance to be in the senior team because I can see that he can go far in football as he has improved a lot since he joined us."He added that there are three more President Cuppers in the squad."Stanley is not the only one I will try to introduce this year. We also have Hamran Peter, Evan Wensley and Aidil Safee who all can still play in the President Cup squad."He said the steps taken to include the junior players are for the future."It is time for us to give chances to our juniors to improve and I hope we can have a pool of back up players."I registered them all in the senior team as I believe these players will help to improve quality of the team in time to come.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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