July 22, 2004

The head coach's position at Balestier Khalsa remains very much for grabs, with the Tigers likely to fill the vacancy only after the end of the season.

Current caretaker coach Abdul Karim Razak is reportedly the leading contender for the position, after engineering upset wins over Tampines Rovers and Home United recently but the club is also looking at 2 Englishmen, former Singapore Sports School coach John Bilton & ex-Woodlands Wellington U18 coach Matt Brown.

Both of them have applied for the post vacated by Korean Jang Jung last month.

Balbeer admitted several coaches have applied for the job, but the club have yet to decide on any candidate for they want the new man to have a fresh start at the end of the year after the season end so that he has enough time to assess the squad & help shape the team for next season.

Bilton, who left the Sports School earlier this year under a cloud of controversy, was keen to take charge immediately at Toa Payoh Stadium but faced with choice of being jobless for too many atime is heading for Iran after learning that the Tigers chairman Balbeer Singh will not make a decision just yet.

The Englishman is headed for Iran on a 2-month contract as the goalkeeping coach for their U17 and U19 national teams preparing for the Asian Youth Championships but he will be keeping in contact with the situation here so that if anything is available, he could discuss it.