Football: Brunei club signs ex-Blackburn boss Kean
Brunei DPMM, a football club based in the oil-rich Southeast Asian kingdom, confirmed Tuesday the signing of ex-Blackburn Rovers manager Steve Kean as their next head coach.
The signing came more than a year after Kean acrimoniously quit the former English champions.
"He will come into Brunei in (the) middle of November," club manager Waslimin Momin told reporters in Singapore. He declined to give further details on the signing.
Brunei DPMM are one of three foreign teams competing in the Singapore League (S-League), and currently lie in seventh place out of 12 with three games left to play.
They are based in Brunei, an oil- and gas-rich Islamic monarchy on the northern tip of Borneo island.
Kean, 46, quit as Blackburn Rovers manager in September last year after facing constant criticism from fans throughout his two-year spell in charge at Ewood Park.
The Scot was controversially brought in by the club's owners Venky's, an Indian-based poultry firm, to replace the experienced Sam Allardyce in 2010.
He stayed on despite the club's relegation from the English Premier League in May last year, but quit months later citing "untenable" conditions at the northwestern club.
The signing of a former English top manager is a shot in the arm for Singapore's S-League, which in recent years has suffered from scandals involving match-fixing, financial irregularities and on-pitch brawls.
"Since they joined the league we all know that Brunei DPMM FC have tried to put the best team and the best coach and they are wanting to field the best possible side in our S-League," said Lim Chin, chief executive of the league.
"We are indeed happy that this coming season DPMM has taken the first step to find a good coach."