No time to rest: Harimau Malaya players warming up during a training session. — FAM
PETALING JAYA: Announcing the new national football team head coach before the squad have completed their campaign at the AFF Cup hasn’t really gone well with interim head coach Pau Marti Vicente.
The Harimau Malaya prepare to take on Singapore in their final Group A fixture at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil today, but the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had announced on Monday that Australian Peter Cklamovski will be the team’s new head coach.
“I think from the start of this whole thing, things have been weird and I don’t know why. I’m wondering if breaking the news that there will be a new head coach while we are competing will benefit anyone,” he said.
“But this is something that we can’t change or control.
Coach Pau Marti Vincente. — FAM
“What we can do is control what happens on the training pitch and on game day, that is the only thing that we need to focus on.’’
The news that Vicente would be at the helm for the last time at the AFF Cup also came at an odd time as it happened right before the team departed to Cambodia to begin their tournament campaign.
The match against Singapore today will be crucial for the team as only a win will see them advance to the next round of the tournament.
Vicente reminded his players that their opponents will have the upper hand coming into the match as they are ahead in the Group standings in second place with six points while Malaysia are in fourth with four points.
“Singapore will have the advantage because they have two points more than us. One point from them is all it takes for them to qualify.
“We are the ones who have to be taking risks. We need a good plan. If we spend our time worrying about all these other things, we will be in trouble,” he said.
