No time to lose: Fergus Tierney (right) has started training with Nakhon Pathom on Saturday.
PETALING JAYA: Fergus Tierney will not be leaving Thailand after all.
After his loan stint to Thai League Two club Chonburi from Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) was cut short, the 21-year-old national striker got another chance to play in the Siamese nation.
This time, Fergus will be moving almost 200km away from Chonburi, donning the colours of Nakhon Pathom United in the Thai Premier League, the top division.
The club, who were Thai League Two champions last year, announced the move yesterday. In fact, he had started training with the club on Saturday.
Nakhon Pathom confirmed they reached a short-term loan agreement with Johor Darul Ta’zim until the end of the season.
Fergus’ father Martin said the move happened after the former won several caps with Malaysia last year.
“We set down some plans a while ago, which is for him to get some national caps, so he would be eligible to play in Thai League One,” he said.
“With the AFF Cup and friendly games against India and Laos, he got his caps and garnered attention from the top division Thai clubs.
“Chonburi were good but he wanted T1 and the opportunity came. The coach and the sporting director were positive.
“It is going to be tough because they are fighting relegation. But the initial impression has been good ... good players and a good setup.
“His (Fergus) objective is to help the team, improve as a player, gain experience and be ready for the national team when called up.”
Nakhon Pathom are currently 15th in the 16-team league with nine points from 15 matches, six points shy of the safe zone, which is to be among the top 13 teams in the league. The bottom three will be relegated.
Fergus will have 15 matches in the league to help the club move out of the relegation spots and also prove he has what it takes to play in the Thai top division.
