Selvaraj step down and Alex Weaver take charge

Selvaraj, who took over at the helm of the Warriors at the end of last season, has step down after their final hope of silverware this season took a real blow on Sunday with a 2-1 defeat to DPMM FC in their opening Starhub League Cup Group D game

The former Singapore international has struggled to get his side to fire and has been under much pressure all season long.

At present, the eight-time S.League champions are languishing third from bottom in the league and were unceremoniously booted out of the RHB Singapore Cup after losing 2-0 to Philippine debutants Global.

Warriors chairman Lam Shiu Tong confirmed the club have accepted the resignation and stressed that Selvaraj's efforts had been satisfactory in all areas apart from their on-field performances.

"We sat down and discussed the situation and we accepted his [Selvaraj's] decision as we felt it was good for the club at this moment. We respect his decision and agreed it was beneficial for both parties.

"The sad truth is that, in football, you can put in a lot of hard work but it may not commensurated by the results. And a lot of people are looking at results.

"He [Selvaraj] knows that he has given his best from the time he started until now. He has been very committed to his job and worked a good relationship with his players.

"All these things take time and effort and he's certainly put on a listening ear to the club and was open to ideas. We were satisfied with his performance in those areas.

"Unfortunately, the performances and hard results just weren't coming. That's one of the reasons why this decision has been delayed till now.

"Had we not been satisfied with the other areas, this perhaps might not have been his decision, but ours much earlier."

The Choa Chu Kang club have moved to appoint former Hougang coach Alex Weaver as coach and the Englishman was relieved to put his Hougang United time behind him and is eager to push on at his new club.

Weaver had been "rested" from his post at Hougang by chairman Bill Ng in April and has since been watching the S-League from the stands.

It is little wonder now that the Englishman is looking forward to his new assignment and he feels that with the support from the players and management, the future looks bright for the Warriors.

“I am excited and [it is] a good challenge for me with the negative momentum the club has had," he said.

"I think it’s the right challenge for the club as well to make this fresh change and hopefully we can see that reaction [from the team] immediately this season.

“I am relieved with this new appointment but I do not want to go on too much about the Hougang experience; it was not the best for me.

“We are certainly building for the future and that is what the club has brought me in to do.

“Fresh, new and different ideas and hopefully we can build a good end to the season and go on to the next season and really push and move the club forward.

“I will meet with the players and talk to them about their experiences with the club and also discuss about the trainings, matches and formations.”

Weaver certainly has done his homework, having observed the Warriors' performances and absorbing hearsay from the footballing fraternity of the Warriors dressing room.

“I have seen and heard a lot externally but bringing in a new approach to training and obviously depending on what I find out about what is going on this season, it might just mean letting the players express themselves a bit more or it might mean providing discipline, tactically," he explained.

“With the foreign and local players that we have got, there are good creative attacking players and we have proved that the team can score goals and [we] just need to stop conceding at the other end.”

It was clear that the 36-year-old has been poring over the Warriors history books as he spoke of the club's past successes, and he believes that he will be able to deliver and propel the club up the league table.

“I am very proud to be here as they won the league title eight times, [and the] Singapore Cup [four times] and just the fact that it is sort of a military organization, I think that means it is very much a part of Singapore and possibly more than just a club," he said.

“We are only five points off the top six and with the new format within the league, that is what every club is looking for and I feel it is realistic [to move to top half of the table].”