Day 1 Pre-Season

 Today was the first day of pre-season. The players were put through a number of fitness tests ranging from long distance runs to body fat percentages. The long road has started. It was great to see the new signings and some familiar faces .

The transition - U18 & 1st Team Development Coach

Last season was the first full season of the transition. The season started with the lead U18 role at Portsmouth FC. The process to get the job was very thorough. It was the first time I had to write a cover letter and do an interview which was a new experience. The first half of the season was spent with the U18's which was fantastic. We progressed well in the League and Youth Alliance Cup with several playing earning first team training minutes. Some players managed to get game time in the Papa John's Cup.

The second half the season saw me occupy the interim Assistant Head Coach role for seven games and then first team development coach. All roles were a fantastic learning curve. I enjoyed the passionate atmosphere at Fratton Park on match days. Seeing first team players improve and develop regardless of their age has always been a passion of mine. There is no better feeling than seeing an individual, partnership or unit develop in the week and then transfer training to the game to help the team win matches. The new season is upon us very soon. The club has signed several young assets who I am looking forward to working with to help them improve their game even more. 

21 Years as a pro!

After 21 years as a pro it's time for the next chapter. I've had some amazing experiences on and off the pitch. A massive thank you to my close mentors, bosses, former clubs, coaches, team mates & fans who have made it a memorable journey. Loved every minute and have no regrets. The dream must be always be greater than the memory. 🇬🇧 🇹🇭 🇭🇰 🇲🇾 🇵🇰 

5 Years with Southern District FC

It has been an amazing 5 years with Southern Family. For personal reasons I have agreed to mutually end my contract with the club and return to the UK. I have always enjoyed an open and honest relationship with the bosses. Special thank you to chairman Man Chun Chan , President Mr Wong, Timothy Wong, Calvin Pui, Beto Fronza, Kam Nin Lee , Fai Sham, Wong Tsz Him,  Wong Kc, the Academy coaches, team mates, fans and the local community for the special memories. 

The club ultra professionally showing great care and compassion towards me and my family. I appreciate the huge opportunity given to transition from player to Head Coach and put into practice what I learned on the UEFA Pro licence for the past two seasons.

This season we raised the standards significantly displaying amazing spirit, belief, bravery and togetherness. The mutual trust, respect and honesty amongst players/staff created an outstanding development culture. It was pleasing to give several young players their 1st team debuts and see experienced players develop further. I will always remain open minded to returning to Hong Kong in future. 🇭🇰👍⚽️🏟🙌🤝

Mid - Season. Top of the league

At the halfway point in the season, we find ourselves at the top of the league with the second-highest number of goals scored, the best defensive record as well as the most clean sheets beating Asian Champions league side Kitchee and last years league runners up Eastern along the way. There's lots of hard work to do in order to maintain our standards but with the processes we have implemented I am confident we can stay competitive in every game.

10th Season in Asia - 5th place league finish

10th season in Asia and the first as a Player Head Coach ends in a respectable 5th place mid-table finish. Excellent learning curve for our youngest coaching team in the league and by far the most challenging and rewarding season I have had during my 20 years as a pro. 

Thank you #Calvin Fai Sham  Wong Tsz Him for the continued hard work and support. The spirit and commitment from the players, staff, coaches, and fans were clear to see throughout. 

Great job behind the scenes as always Wong Kc and legend kitman Kam Nin Lee . We will review and reflect on the games to try to improve. Finally thank you to the bosses for the ongoing backing and support all season. Onwards and upwards.

 🏟🔥⚽️💪👏

Win, Goal, MOM!

The team put in a fantastic performance at the weekend against Happy Valley running out 2-1 winners in a game that could have been a lot more for us. The season has two games to go and we currently occupy 5th place, one more win would all but guarantee that final league position. It was pleasing to get on the scoresheet but I was more pleased with the overall togetherness and atmosphere of the group. We will need this togetherness and attitude going into the last few weeks of the season. 

3-3 Draw last kick of the game!

Yesterday we drew 3-3 with local rivals Happy Valley with the last kick of the game to rescue a point. After leading 2-0 the game should have been wrapped long before but we need to learn how to see out games. The attitude and effort from all players was very clear to see, nobody gave up which is the absolute minimum requirement. We now have a week to recover and prepare for the next game which is a crucial one for us to collect more points if we want to climb the table

1-1 Draw with Happy Valley

This evening we drew 1-1 with Happy Valley in a game we created lots of clear chances to win the game, the team performance deserved three points but a point is never a bad result. 

We have a week to now prepare for our first home game for several months. 

Hopefully, we can take the momentum from this game into next week and turn a draw into a victory, 

Yesterday was a tough game to come away from without at least a point, Credit to the players for not giving up. 2-1 to a team who is expected to be up at the top end of the table is not bad but we know we can be better and will keep working hard to improve in all aspects. 

First League Game 4-0 Away win

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 Last weekend we kicked off the Hong Kong Premier League season 2020-2021 with an emphatic 4-0 away win at Pegasus. It is nice to get off to a winning start however there is still a very long way to go and lots of hard work ahead of us this season. 

Pleased to see several aspects of our training come off in the game which is a credit to the players and coaches for believing in the new style of play and identity we are creating at the club during this season of transition. 

Development Coaches

Great to have two additions to the youngest coaching team in Hong Kong. 🇭🇰⚽️🤝

Lau Wa Kit & Michael Tsang are very dedicated & passionate development coaches who will specifically train the first team Academy graduates that have successfully transitioned from our club's youth system to the first-team squad to help them maximize their potential. 

Both coaches are familiar with our elite youth curriculums and player development philosophy and will no doubt prove to be very beneficial to the squad
. 

👏⚽️🏟

Academy Debuts

Proud moment for our Academy

to see Lam Chi Fung making his professional debut to become the fourth Academy graduate to play in the first team since the start of our elite youth development program in 2018.

 Well done to fellow 19-year-old Stefan Antonic also on his first professional start. The club is very much in a transition process but the future is bright 👏🏟⚽️🇭🇰

Winning start to season 2020-2021

 It was great to start the 2020-2021 Season with an entertaining late 3-2 victory. Enjoyed the experience of preparing the team all week and then being involved in the heat of the battle on the pitch. Long way to go this season for our young players and staff. Hard work starts now! Welcome to Hong Kong to our new foreign signing from Portugal, Pedro Mendes. 

HEACH COACH..NEW CHALLENGE!

I value the trust and confidence placed in me by the President, Vice President and Chairman. I am looking forward to maintaining our honest relationship and to the challenges ahead. The coronavirus pandemic has changed the dynamics of the game worldwide, it has restricted many clubs financially, however opportunities will arise through adversity and this is very much an opportunity for me to lead a wonderful club.

3rd in the league

Yesterday we returned to league action behind closed doors with a heavy defeat against Kitchee, we got punished for individual errors but must learn from the game and look to recover as soon as possible to approach the FA Cup game next week in a positive frame of mind. The league table is still fairly tight and we still have 8 games to go in order to finish as high up the table as possible. 

Sapling Cup Final

Yesterday we ended the Sapling Cup group campaign with our place in the final confirmed. We only lost once in the 8 games and played a very young side yesterday. It was great to see three of the U18 players from last season feature in the game either from the start or from the bench. We are now fully focusing on the FA Cup quarter-final game in a few week's time. 

2-2 Sapling Cup Draw

Yesterday we earned a very late draw to remain top of the Sapling Cup group needing just a point from the last game to secure a place in the final of the competition. We are pleased with the standings going into the final game. We have a week rest ahead of the final game. 

Sapling Cup Win 2-1

Yesterday we beat Yuen Long in a tight game to keep us top of the Sapling Cup group with two games to go. We have ourselves in a very good position needing one win from two to reach the final of this competition. We are now fully preparing for the tough game at the weekend against Tai Po. 

4-2 League win at Tai Po

This afternoon we beat Tai Po FC 4-2 in a very end to end game, it was the first time in three season we have managed to get a victory at this ground. The result takes us up to second in the league and only three points off the top spot. We have everything to still play for approaching the final three months of the season. We now have a break for Chinese New Year celebrations and will resume on the 2nd of February in the Sapling Cup. 

Sapling Cup Win 1-0,, Top of the group

On Saturday afternoon we beat Tai Po FC 1-0 to get back to the top of our Sapling Cup group. We have three games left in the group stages and must continue the excellent form if we are to reach the final. Another good set of performances from the young players who played very well again.

Sapling Cup Group Game 0-0 With Happy Valley

 Today we drew 0-0 with Happy Valley to maintain our 100% clean sheet record in this cup. We are on track to reach the final if we can win 2-3 of the remaining games. This competition presents a realistic opportunity for us to land a trophy this season. 

New Years day 2020 - Win!!

We started the New Year with a 2-1 win over Tai Po FC which leaves us in the top three positions in the league. We now have two Sapling Cup games to focus on which are very important. 

450 Career Games

Last week it was great to reach the 450 game career game milestone with a win and clean sheet that put us a the top of the table. The game was also the 50th for KC Southern since signing 

1-1 Draw with Yuen Long FC

This afternoon we drew 1-1 against a tricky opponent in Yuen Long FC at the Mong Kok stadium in tough conditions. We found ourselves 1-0 down on the stroke of halftime but showed good character to keep on fighting until the end and rescue a point late on in the game. We now recharge our batteries and look forward to the game against Kitchee on Friday.

Sapling Cup 1-0 victory against R&F

Wednesday night we started our Sapling Cup campaign against R&F of China with a superb 1-0 victory in tricky conditions. The game saw debuts for several young players including one from the very successful U18 team last season. We battled very hard to maintain our 1-0 lead throughout the game and deserved the victory in the end. All focus now shifts back to the league as we prepare for the tough game coming up against Yuen Long next weekend at the Mong Kok Stadium. 

2-2 Draw away to Lee Man

We continued our unbeaten start to the season with a dramatic injury-time equalizer to rescue a point against a strong Lee Man team. We opened the scoring with a very well-worked team goal and got to half time at 1-1. Both teams had chances to win the game but overall a point was a fair result for both teams.

Season opener 3-2 win against newly promoted Rangers FC

We kicked off the 2019-2020 season last night with a convincing 3-0 victory against Rangers FC, we completely dominated the game. We are pleased to get 3 points on the board and the new campaign off to a winning start. 

Pre Season no.20

Pre-Season number 20 is under way and we are now in Thailand for a pre-season training camp. We will play 5 friendly games in preparation for the new season which will kick off at the end of August. 

End of season recovery time!!!

After a long season that ended with international duty in Qatar it is time to rest and recharge the batteries ahead of the new season. It was a solid season on a personal note which saw me clock up 30 more game in all competitions. 

1st leg in Cambodia 0-2. Second leg in Qatar

The first leg of the World Cup Qualifiers against Cambodia ended in a late 2-0 defeat, we had several chances to get a crucial away goal but unfortunately could not convert the chances. The second leg game in Qatar will be an opportunity to reverse the result and progress to the groups stages of World Cup Qualification for the 1st time in the history of Pakistan Football. We now have a few days to recover and prepare for that second crucial leg game in Doha, Qatar. 

FIFA World Cup AFC 1st Round Qualifiers v Cambodia over two legs

Always an honour to play for National Team, good workout in Bahrain in preparation of the FIFA World Cup 2022 1st Round AFC Qualifiers against Cambodia. First game will be on the 6th June in Cambodia & the second will be played at the Hamad Bin Kalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar 11th June. 🇵🇰🇧🇭 🇰🇭 🇶🇦 #Qatar2022 #2022WorldCup