By ERIC SAMUEL – PETALING JAYA: Pahang’s early fire in the Super League has fizzled out.

The Elephants made heads turn when they led the 12-team standings for more than a month. They led with 12 points from four wins and a defeat but all their hard work came a cropper within a spate of five days (Feb 15-19) when they suffered back-to-back defeats to Lions XII (3-0) and Perak (1-0).

Pahang’s sudden decline in form saw them drop to fifth in the standings.

Coach Dollah Salleh wants to check the rot and hopes to see his team bounce back to their winning ways.

“It is easier said than done because we host treble winner’s Kelantan next. It will be demoralising to lose three matches in a row. It will be an utter waste of energy and hard work after having done well to sustain the pressure to stay at the top,” said a concerned Dollah yesterday.

Pahang could slip further down to ninth spot if they fail to collect maximum points against Kelantan in Kuantan on Saturday.

“It is an early wake call for the players. I don’t want them to squander the chances at goal. Yes, we played badly against Lions XII but we were very much on top of things against Perak (1-0).

“We hit the post, one chance was cleared off the line and there were a couple more sitters, which went begging. It is a game we should have won.

“It is not that we are showing a decline in form. It is just that we are not taking our chances well as what we did in the opening five matches. The competition is getting tight because with just two defeats we tumbled to fifth spot. The message is clear – make no mistakes and start to climb back to the top,” added Dollah.

Pahang won their spot in the top flight via the playoffs after finishing runners-up in the Premier League last season.

Related posts:

• Coach Dollah: We won’t return home empty-handed
• Pahang coach Dollah warns against complacency
• Pahang bank on Gopi
• Selangor squander numerous chances in front of goal
• Pahang confident of scoring another surprise win