Ken Ng Kin, the Kitchee president, said he was in negotiations with Cardoso’s prospective replacement, and hoped to confirm the appointment early next month.
Technical director Jordi Tarres had also been mentioned as a potential boss, but Ng said he would stay in his current post “as far as I know”.
Kitchee’s fragility was also laid bare when they collapsed from 2-0 up to lose an FA Cup quarter-final 3-2 to Tai Po. That defeat condemned them to another season out of continental competition, but Ng said the club’s budget, believed to be roughly HK$25 million (US$3.2m) would not be affected.
“We don’t have a limit, but we don’t want to spend more, and we don’t want to spend less,” he added. “We’ll try to negotiate whatever is needed to sign players, and the total is the total.”
Kitchee will add Callum Beattie from Football Club, and remained in pole position to capture midfielder Kendy Ikegami from North District.
“Our staff are talking to players and we have some agreements,” he said. “But if the head coach we’re talking to doesn’t say yes, we’ll have to start again.”
https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3311568/kitchee-confident-avoiding-manchester-united-style-decline-closing-new-boss