Balestier Khalsa’s departing coach Peter de Roo urges FAS to get out of comfort zone to improve SPL

SINGAPORE – For most of the last decade, Balestier Khalsa had become a team known for their defensive, uninspiring brand of football rather than flair or ambition.

That perception has been turned on its head under Peter de Roo, who has been their full-time coach since the 2023 season.

With one game left, Balestier are fourth on 45 points – three more than their next opponents, fifth-placed Albirex Niigata – and are just a point away from securing consecutive top-four finishes in the Singapore Premier League (SPL). The last time they achieved this was in 1998.

The 55-year-old Dutchman has done this while having introduced a possession-based, attacking style of play that has earned plaudits from fans and pundits.

However, the de Roo era will end on May 25, after their season finale against Albirex at the Bishan Stadium (6pm), as he has informed the club that he will not be renewing his contract. His decision was prompted by several factors, including difficulties in taking the next step at a club that he felt has reached their maximum potential with “limited resources”.

De Roo said: “We compete with clubs who have a much higher budget than us and, in the top four, we are the only club that doesn’t have national team players.

“When you are successful in a club like Balestier, the budget is not going to improve in the next season, but the players want to earn more money and the expectations go up. To stay at the same level, or even improve in terms of the results, is going to be a massive challenge.

“Where I come from, if you do well, you generate more income, there are more people watching, you get more money from broadcast and commercial arms to improve the team and the salaries of players. Simply, if you do well, the budget goes up. At Balestier, it is not like that. I must accept that.”

Noting that he has achieved his objective of making an impact at the club, he added: “You better leave two months too early than stay for one day too long.”

While he exits “with pain in my heart, because I love these boys, I love the club”, de Roo said he also felt the need to be honest as he felt there was so much untapped potential in the football scene here.

Without mincing his words, he added that the football authorities’ lack of effort and innovation have also contributed to his decision to leave.

“I’ve been part of the SPL for three years and what I noticed is that there is a lack of effort from the people (in charge) in trying to make it better and more attractive. I see a lot of people who take things for granted here and are too comfortable,” said de Roo.

He mentioned, for example, that on several occasions, he had raised the issue of time-wasting by SPL teams with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS). This had contributed to dull matches and, by his own tabulation, a below average ball-in-play time of the “low 40s”. The average ball-in-play time in the English Premier League is 57 minutes.

“It is disrespectful to people who watch it, and it’s certainly not what young players should be seeing. FAS can do a lot about these things as well. We must do better, and we owe it to the people who watch our games to address these things,” de Roo said, adding that more should also be done in terms of fan engagement.

While admitting he did not have all the answers, he stressed the need for innovation. He said: “We need to try to encourage and promote and make the competitions better, but I get the feeling that everybody is sort of being comfortable. Being comfortable isn’t going to lead to anything. They need to think outside the box.”

The departure of club vice-chairman Darwin Jalil in April had also played a part in his own exit. De Roo credited Darwin for raising standards at the club and being a crucial figure behind the Tigers’ growth in the last two years.

De Roo, who served as technical director at the Football Association of Malaysia from 2017 until the end of 2020, had initially joined as Balestier’s interim coach for the last six league matches of the 2022 season, after Akbar Nawas left to join then Thai second-tier side Udon Thani.

But he eventually accepted an offer to stay on permanently for the 2023 season, before agreeing to extend his contract again for the 2024-25 campaign.

The Dutchman said he accepted the role even though the Tigers’ best offer meant taking a pay cut of up to 60 per cent compared to his previous salaries.

Since leaving his appointment in Malaysia, he has been based in Singapore, where his wife works at the Netherlands Embassy.

For now, de Roo has not thought of the next step in his career, but reiterated that he has enjoyed being in the Republic and hopes to see changes to improve local football.

He added: “During my time here, I have studied the history of the country. Look at where Singapore was then in the 60s or in the 70s, and where they are now.

“You’re so good at planning and building so many things. So, to me, it is weird that we can’t get football organised.

“If you can transfer that mindset of how the nation was built into football, things will improve.”

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