PETALING JAYA: Handling poor results as the leader of a football team is never easy.

Sabah’s captain Rawilson Batuil not only knows it but he has done the noble thing by owning up for his lacklustre performance in the Super League.

While unhappy with his form, the skipper has promised to lead the team to a better showing in the Malaysia Cup starting on Sept 25.

Sabah finished ninth with 19 points, just three points shy of the relegation zone.

Their poor outing in the league saw the club rest Indonesian Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto and appoint former national Under-23 coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee as the new head coach.

Centreback Rawilson said they should forget about their rough time and look to make amends.

“I will be honest...it wasn’t great and satisfying at all. I wasn’t happy with my performance and our outing. We have to bounce back in the Malaysia Cup,” said Rawilson, who has been playing for the club since 2013.

“We’ve to do extra work in training to fix our flaws and go in strong. We have a new head coach, and the players are looking forward to re-start again under him.

“Kim Swee has coached the national sides and has lots of international experience too. I hope we can adapt to his tactics and do something special.”