KUALA LUMPUR — Harimau Malaya may be facing uncertainty off the pitch after national head coach Peter Cklamovski has been linked with the vacant managerial position at English League Two club Salford City.
Media reports in England have identified the Australian as one of several candidates being considered by the ambitious club, which is searching for a successor following Karl Robinson’s exit at the end of last season.
The links have emerged less than two years into Cklamovski’s spell in charge of Malaysia, inevitably fuelling speculation over whether he could be tempted by a return to English football management.
A potential move to Salford would mark a significant step in the 48-year-old’s coaching journey. While he has earned a strong reputation across Asia — particularly in Japan — he has yet to take up a managerial role in England.
Cklamovski’s standing in the game was elevated through his long association with Australian coach Ange Postecoglou. The pair first worked together with the Socceroos before reuniting at Yokohama F. Marinos, where they played a key role in securing the J1 League title in 2019.
He has since built an extensive coaching portfolio in Japan, with stints at Shimizu S-Pulse, Montedio Yamagata and FC Tokyo, further cementing his reputation as one of Australia’s most respected coaches abroad.
Salford, co-owned by former Manchester United players Gary Neville and David Beckham, remain one of the most closely followed clubs outside England’s top divisions.
Despite significant backing and long-term ambition, the club have struggled to secure promotion from League Two. Their play-off disappointment last season ultimately led to Robinson’s departure, prompting a search for a manager capable of delivering success.
Cklamovski’s coaching philosophy, built on high standards and meticulous attention to detail, has previously drawn praise from Postecoglou, who once described him as a coach driven by “an obsession to improve every aspect of a football operation”.
Neither Salford nor the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has commented on the speculation, and no formal discussions are believed to have taken place at this stage.
However, the reports are likely to draw attention in Malaysia, particularly as Cklamovski is understood to be under contract until the end of the year.
Should he depart, it would bring an end to a turbulent and closely scrutinised period for the national side.
His tenure has been overshadowed by the fallout from Malaysia’s naturalisation controversy involving seven foreign-born players, whose eligibility documents were later ruled fraudulent by FIFA.
The issue triggered wider repercussions for Malaysian football, with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) subsequently imposing sanctions over the use of ineligible players during the country’s Asian Cup qualifying campaign.
For now, Cklamovski remains focused on his responsibilities with Harimau Malaya, though the growing speculation has added fresh uncertainty over the national team’s leadership beyond 2026. — June 14, 2026