Demotivated players are not the right recipe for any head coach heading into a crucial first leg of the Malaysia Cup quarterfinal and that was the headache that Zainal Abidin Hassan had to face in yesterday's 3-0 loss to Pahang at Hang Jebat Stadium. With away goals rule in play for the competition, it does look as though Melaka already have one foot through the exit door.
Talismanic centre back Shukor Adan was confirmed by Zainal after the match that he refused to play against Pahang because of unpaid salaries and he isn't the only one in the team affected by the problem.