Midfielder Brendan Gan says Kelantan's new coach Velizar Popov has brought a "fresh attitude" and "intense" training sessions as the Red Warriors look to revive their Malaysia Super League (MSL) campaign in quick fire games against Selangor.
Kelantan face the 2015 Malaysia Cup winners at Shah Alam Stadium on Wednesday before hosting them in Kota Bharu on Saturday. It will be a first game in charge for Bulgarian Popov after K. Devan parted company with the club last week.
"As always, a new coach brings a fresh attitude and approach to the squad, but it is hard for the coach to change a lot in only three days," Gan told ESPN FC. "We cannot judge him based on these performances, but training has been intense, structured and enjoyable, so hopefully this will continue and we will grow as a team."
Kelantan are sixth on the MSL table, six points behind third-placed Selangor, after 10 matches. It means that the two upcoming games could define both sides' entire campaigns.
"The table is quite compact with points, because one win can take you top three, and one loss can send you to the bottom four," Gan said. "So, these games back-to-back against Selengor will be a great opportunity to close the gap at the top.
"But Selangor are a tough team and it will take our best to beat them."
Kelantan will be missing veteran centre-back Jon McKain who has a knee injury, which means that Norhafiz Zamani Misbah will again partner Norhafiz Zamani Misbah in defence.
Selangor will be eager to bounce back after a miserable May so far. They lost the Sultan of Selangor Cup to Singapore before exiting the AFC Cup with a 1-0 loss away to S.League outfit Tampines Rovers.