Ilhan Fandi pleased with start to life at Lion City Sailors, eyeing more under Mark Jackson

SINGAPORE -- Three games into his time at Lion City Sailors, Ilhan Fandi is satisfied with his start to life back in the Singapore Premier League.

After previous stints with Young Lions and FC Jurong -- when they were still Albirex Niigata (S) -- domestically, Ilhan spent the last three and a half years playing abroad in Belgium and Thailand before becoming one of the Sailors' big-name acquisitions in the offseason.

For a team that has done the domestic double in the past two seasons, the Sailors are once again expected to be on the hunt for glory in 2026-27 and, yet, it already has been somewhat of an eventful campaign.

At the start of the month, just days before their season opener in the Community Shield against BG Tampines Rovers, the Sailors dismissed coach Jesús Casas -- after he publicly flirted with the then-vacant South Korea job.

Varo Moreno stepped up in an interim capacity but it did not take long for the Sailors to settle on Casas' fulltime successor -- with Mark Jackson taking charge of his first game in Thursday's 1-1 draw with BG Pathum United in the AFC Champions League Two.

The Sailors' form so far is perhaps indicative of the difficult beginning to their campaign.

They started well with a 2-0 win over Tampines in the Community Shield -- where Ilhan scored both their goals -- before having to come from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Hougang United in a match they were expected to comfortably win.

And while they were unable to hold on to their lead against BGPU on Thursday, they will probably be satisfied with the result given it came against quality opposition who looked the likelier of the two teams to find a winner as the game entered its closing stages.

"Personally, I'm quite happy," Ilhan told ESPN, after the draw with former club BGPU. "I've settled down quite well and I'm just very happy with the current mood in the team.

"Obviously, we have Mark Jackson in now. I'm very excited to work with him again.

"For me, [it's been] a good start."

"I really wanted to score but this is football. We still need to gel as a team obviously, under a new coach.

"I'm just very excited to go for national team [duty] and come back and give it all out again.

Of course, the Sailors' new star and coach are hardly strangers.

Having spent last season on loan at Buriram United, Ilhan was part of a team that won the Thai League 1, FA Cup and ASEAN Club Championship under Jackson.

Remarkably, it was not the first time Jackson has achieved a treble -- having done something similar with A-League Men outfit Central Coast Mariners previously.

The competition for places at Buriram meant Ilhan did not get as much playing time as he might have liked, although he did impress when given the opportunity -- usually in cup competitions.

And the 23-year-old is not letting his previous lack of playing time under Jackson prevent him from being excited at what the future holds for him at the Sailors.

"I've said many times that -- when he [Jackson] was at Buriram -- although I wasn't playing too much, I felt very sharp," Ilhan explained.

"When he was announced as Sailors coach, I told the boys that his trainings are very good, high intensity and you will feel sharp.

"That's what I'm looking forward to -- to take my performance to the next level -- and I think coach Mark is the guy for it."

Thursday's game not only officially marked the reunion between Ilhan and Jackson as player and coach, but it also saw the former take to the pitch with some familiar faces from BGPU once more -- this time as opponents rather than teammates.

Understandably, Ilhan was delighted to catch up with some friends, especially a big-brother figure in Thailand captain Chanathip Songkrasin.

"[He's] amazing -- not only as a player but as a person," the Singapore international added, when asked about Chanathip.

"He's so humble. He always checks up on me as well. I'm quite close to him.

"I'm very happy to see him back playing. I think he was out injured for a while. It's so amazing to see this legend playing, and to play against him is just amazing."