Don’t be choosy and stop making excuses. That’s the message to former national player Khalid Jamlus from Malaysian Football Coaches Association (MFCA) president B. Satiananthan.

Satiananthan said Khalid should take the opportunity given to him and not come up with “non-committal” reasons.

Earlier, Khalid said on social media that he has been jobless for three years and was in the process of putting up his 2002 Golden Boot for auction on Facebook.

Last Saturday, it was reported that Khalid had received a RM99,999 offer for his Golden Boot (for being top scorer in the M-League) from an individual known as “Tuah Nice”.

Khalid had said he wasn’t looking for sympathy and just wished to be given a chance in life, and he hopes to work in the local football industry.

After Khalid’s plight became public, he has been short-listed as among 40 people for the coaching job at the Mokhtar Dahari Academy (AMD) elite squad in Gambang, Pahang

But Khalid later indicated that he is in a dilemma as he is looking for a job with a Klang Valley team in order to be near his family whereas the AMD is further away.

However, in his advice to Khalid, Satiananthan stressed that coaching is not an easy field to make inroads.

“Khalid has got to make sacrifices in life.

“For a player, his last drawn salary won’t be like what he will be paid when he starts as a coach. It’s like starting from the bottom in a company,” said Satiananthan.

“Only the established coaches in the country will get good salaries.

“The junior coaches cannot expect life to be like when they were players. Which is why sacrifices must be made when one wants to become a coach.

“He’s got to change the way he looks at coaching because in this line, there is no comfortable life.

“For example, when I was with Kelantan, I was away from my family. So, it’s not easy to start.

“I think it will be good for Khalid to go to AMD. But if he can’t go because of his family and he wants to find people to hire him near his home… might as well get someone to open an academy near his house.

“When an opportunity presents itself, grab it. His family can wait and they will understand.”

Satiananthan, who has known Khalid since the latter was 18 years old and coached him during their days in Kelantan (2009-2010), said he knows of many ex-national footballers who have obtained their coaching licences but are jobless.

Satiananthan, who wants Khalid to change his mindset, said: “To be truthful, to be an AMD coach, he (Khalid) must have a proven track record. A coaching licence alone isn’t the measurement of everything.

“It’s also about experience and how to handle kids. He is one of the lucky ones because when his news came out, everyone jumped on the bandwagon to make something out of it.

“So, don’t give lame excuses. I know a lot of ex-players who have licences but no job.”