We will look for another Harimau Malaya head coach - Tunku Ismail

After finding it hard to come to terms with Mario Gomez - the candidate for national head coach - Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has decided to look for another candidate to fill the post.

Tunku Ismail in a statement today said they would find another candidate who really wanted to be coach of Harimau Malaya, after the former Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) coach was found to be at odds with the Tunku Ismail's plans.

"I was told that Mario Gomez denied demanding a higher salary. We (FAM) offered him USD25,000 but he asked for USD45,000. Is that not him demanding for more than what we offered?

"Never mind. We'll find someone else who really wants to be a coach," said the Tunku Mahkota of Johor.

At a meeting with chief editors and sports editors of the local media on Tuesday, Tunku Ismail revealed that Gomez had demanded a salary higher than what he had earned while coaching JDT.

He said the FAM was still in discussion with Gomez, given the financial problems faced by FAM at this point with RM40 million in debt.

The media today reported that Gomez denied he demanded a high salary to become national head coach and naming Kedah coach Tan Cheng Hoe as his assistant.

At the 53rd FAM Congress on March 25, as soon as he was confirmed as FAM president, Tunku Ismail announced Gomez as national head coach while Kim Swee was tasked with handling the U-23 squad after the dismissal of Frank Berhandt.

--BERNAMA