Visakha Football Club’s new head coach Gerard Jones is eager to introduce a fresh playing philosophy that emphasises attacking football and high pressing.
Visakha has significantly increased its investment this year, recruiting foreign coaching staff and experienced international players.
Jones explained that the team has been training intensively. In recent weeks, the club has used a coastal area in Preah Sihanouk province as a training base to further sharpen their technical skills. The team also organised a variety of recreational games that required players to work together, aiming to strengthen internal unity and mutual understanding on the pitch.
“We’ve been training hard, and the players have received a lot of input from me. Over the past 11 days, the players have truly worked intensively. On some days, we trained twice a day, reviewed match footage and conducted both group and individual sessions. We came here to work on technical skills and team-building activities to improve camaraderie, unity, communication and understanding among the players,” Jones explained, via the club.
He is eagerly anticipating the team’s performance in the Visakha Pre-Season Cup 2025, a four-team tournament. According to the July 4 draw, Visakha will face Tiffy Army at 6pm this Wednesday. Phnom Penh Crown will take on ISI Dangkor Senchey on July 10, with the winners advancing to the final on July 13.
Jones sees the tournament as an opportunity for Visakha to strengthen and prepare the team while trying out new and innovative approaches. He also views it as a chance to elevate the standards of Cambodian top-tier football.
“This pre-season tournament marks the beginning of the new season and is a great platform to demonstrate and grow Cambodian football. It showcases the quality and strengths of our league and boosts competition levels as we face strong teams,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to this tournament because, although I’ve already led a few closed-door friendlies at Prince Stadium, this will be my first official tournament leading the team. It’s also a valuable opportunity for the coaching staff to prepare and adapt to our home stadium environment,” added the English coach.
He noted that the squad boasts a number of talented players, particularly several young players promoted from the youth team, who are receiving instruction under the club’s new tactical philosophy focused on pressing and attacking play.
“This year, we’ll have a new style of play — an aggressive, high-pressure approach. I’m also looking forward to seeing new fans get to know our team and inviting them to come watch our opening match against Tiffy Army and our official league games,” he said.
Jones expressed his satisfaction with joining Visakha for the new season, a well-funded club that has significantly increased its spending to improve team quality.
Visakha has extended contracts with several key players, including Latvian defender Jagodinskis Vitalijs, Uzbek midfielder Mirzaev Alisher Umidovich and Japanese midfielder Park Jung-bin.
They have also signed several new attacking internationals, including Brazilian forward Breninho, Ghanaian striker Nana Kwame Oppong and Kenyan striker Benson Ochieng.
Jones shared his jubilation at the new foreign signings.
“I’m excited because we’ve already signed some international players. It’s a chance to build a strong squad with players who are hungry to train and quickly absorb what I’m teaching,” he said.
The club has also brought in several experienced international coaches to take up key positions within the club. They include Mugisha Ibrahim – goalkeeper coach, Biagio De Franco – fitness coach, Fernando Portela – personal development coach and Sandi Sahman – nutrition specialist.
“I’m also very pleased with how we’ve assembled the staff. This year, we’ve gone into great detail — two analysts, a nutrition coach, a strength coach and more. Notably, we now have a personal skills development coach for individual players — this is the first time a Cambodian club has had such a coach. All of this will help raise our club’s standard moving forward,” added the 35-year-old Jones.
