We want trophies: Pegasus coach sets lofty goals for new Hong Kong soccer season
Lee Chi-kin expects his squad to be a force alongside champions Kitchee, Eastern and South China
Pegasus coach Lee Chi-kin has challenged his young players to raise the bar as they prepare to kick off the new Hong Kong soccer season as one of the "big four" clubs.
With a budget of more than HK$10 million, Pegasus are expected to be a force alongside champions Kitchee, big spenders Eastern and traditional powerhouses South China.
They must change their mentality as they are not young and in a learning process any more
But with local players mainly from now-defunct YFCMD, Lee said his charges had to grow up fast to meet the challenges.
"They must change their mentality as they are not young and in a learning process any more," said the coach. "They are now playing for a big club with expectations from both the management and the fans. When they are on the pitch, they have to beat opponents and win trophies."
Lee, coach of the year with YFCMD last season, admitted he now had more resources to realise his aims. "We now have a team of backroom staff, including a fitness coach from Europe, and we will also send the team to preseason in Thailand," he said. "We have secured five overseas players to strengthen our title hopes."
Of the five foreigners, goalkeeper Kristijan Naumovski is a current Macedonia international who played for Dinamo Bucharest, of Romania, before coming to Hong Kong. He has made six appearances for his country, including an international friendly against Australia in March. The four others are defender Nejc Mevlja, midfielder Dusan Martinovic and forwards Ivan Milicevic and Admir Adrovic