KUALA LUMPUR (By K. Rajan): Harimau Muda A coach Ong Kim Swee hopes
to have his team’s overseas training and playing trips confirmed by this
week.
The national Under-23 squad are scheduled to have a stint in Australia in January and another in Europe some time in March.
Kim Swee explained that the overseas stints were a vital part of the team’s preparations to defend the SEA Games gold medal in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, next December.
“We have finalised the teams for the Australian stint and are awaiting the green light from the FA of Malaysia (FAM), which we should get by the end of this week,” said Kim Swee.
“We are also waiting for the Australian FA to confirm a friendly match against their Under-23 side during the stint. An official announcement will be made when everything is finalised.
“We have 27 players in the squad and I plan to use all of them in these overseas stints. I want to gauge their ability at a higher level.”
The Harimau Muda A squad are also scheduled to play in the Merdeka Tournament in August and defend their VFF Newspaper Cup crown in October before starting their SEA Games campaign in Myanmar.
Commenting on rumours linking him to the senior national team’s coaching job, the 42-year-old said “I’m focused on the task at hand”.
The national team’s failure to defend the AFF Suzuki Cup last week has seen critics calling for coach Datuk K. Rajagopal to be sacked.
“As you can see, I have a tight schedule and a target to meet next year,” said Kim Swee. “I can’t be drawn into commenting on speculations … just let met focus on my job. I can’t talk about replacing Rajagopal, it’s up to FAM to decide.”
THE STAR
The national Under-23 squad are scheduled to have a stint in Australia in January and another in Europe some time in March.
Kim Swee explained that the overseas stints were a vital part of the team’s preparations to defend the SEA Games gold medal in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, next December.
“We have finalised the teams for the Australian stint and are awaiting the green light from the FA of Malaysia (FAM), which we should get by the end of this week,” said Kim Swee.
“We are also waiting for the Australian FA to confirm a friendly match against their Under-23 side during the stint. An official announcement will be made when everything is finalised.
“We have 27 players in the squad and I plan to use all of them in these overseas stints. I want to gauge their ability at a higher level.”
The Harimau Muda A squad are also scheduled to play in the Merdeka Tournament in August and defend their VFF Newspaper Cup crown in October before starting their SEA Games campaign in Myanmar.
Commenting on rumours linking him to the senior national team’s coaching job, the 42-year-old said “I’m focused on the task at hand”.
The national team’s failure to defend the AFF Suzuki Cup last week has seen critics calling for coach Datuk K. Rajagopal to be sacked.
“As you can see, I have a tight schedule and a target to meet next year,” said Kim Swee. “I can’t be drawn into commenting on speculations … just let met focus on my job. I can’t talk about replacing Rajagopal, it’s up to FAM to decide.”
THE STAR
Comments
Post a Comment