Dollah Salleh appointed Harimau Malaya head coach

The former coach of the Royal Malaysian Police, Dollah Salleh, has been appointed as the new head coach of Harimau Malaya for a period of two years.

Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) deputy president, Datuk Seri Afandi Hamzah said the appointment of the 50-year-old local coach had the unanimous consent of FAM exco members based on his proven excellent record in helping some local teams win multiple championships.

Two other international figures, Germany's Gert Engels and Wolfgang Sidka were linked to the job prior to the confirmation for the position which had been vacant since Dec 31, when Datuk K. Rajagopal's follow-up contract was not renewed.

One of his first roles with the national team will be to prepare them for the upcoming 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup, which will be held in Singapore and Vietnam in November.

"We will ask Dollah to submit his list of coaches to make it easier to handle the national team," Afandi told reporters after the first meeting of the FAM exco for the 2014-2018 session chaired by the new FAM president, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah in Kelana Jaya, today.

In the meantime, FAM secretary-general Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said four 'warm-up' sessions had been organised for Harimau Malaya before facing the AFF Suzuki Cup 2014 Championship.

The matches will be against Tajikistan on August 6; Singapore on September 6; Jordan on October 11 and another country which has yet to be finalised on November 18.

Dollah has previously led the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MPPJ) team to become the 2003 Malaysia Cup champions besides bringing Selangor to clinch the triple titles - Malaysia Cup, FA Cup and Premier League in 2005.