Former Valiant is Premier League manager
OK, maybe the headline is a little misleading – after all, we’re talking the Malaysian Premier League, not the English Premier League, here.
The former player involved is midfielder George O’Callaghan, who, rather surprisingly, has landed his first managerial job as the coach of Sabah Rhinos in Malaysia.
Somewhat confusingly, although the Rhinos play in the “Premier League” that is actually the second tier of football in Malaysia with the top division being called the “Super League.”
Sabah play in a 35,000 capacity stadium in Kota Kinabalu and have some well-known faces in their squad. The former Stoke City defender Abdoulaye Faye signed for the club earlier this month, while upfront the Rhinos also boast controversial forward El-Hadj Diouff.
O’Callaghan last played for Dover Athletic in the Conference South in 2012 and this is his first managerial appointment.
O’Callaghan at Vale Park…
The midfielder progressed through the junior ranks and made his debut aged 19 in 1998. He became a first-team regular in 2001 but he left the club when he was not offered a new contract in 2001. In total, he made 42 appearances for the Valiants, scoring four goals.