How do you think the boys have done throughout the entire tournament? Did they meet your expectations?
I think the boys did okay. Although there were a lot of areas that could have been better, especially on the aspects we had been focusing on during trainings.
As for meeting my expectations, yes and no. Yes for the execution of the system. No for not doing it consistently enough.
What were your expectations coming into the AOFC Cup 2019 and where do you think Team Malaysia went right/wrong in achieving/not achieving the goals?
The expectation for this AOFC Cup was to do well in the group and try to qualify for the Semi-Finals. I think we could have and can do better.
Overall, where do you think Team Malaysia has to work and improve on?
Everything. Fitness. Skills. Mental. But especially the system we want to execute as a team.
In 4 out of 5 games, Team Malaysia conceded first and then started to try and come back. How do you think Team Malaysia can overcome that?
I don’t think it is something that we can overcome overnight. These are experiences that needs to be gained through playing a lot high intensity and close games which we lack back home. Which is why tournaments like, the AOFC Cup is an important avenue to expose our players to these kind of games.
Having a team of roughly 7 debutants, do you think they have gotten enough exposure and experience after this tournament?
We try our best to play them as much as we can. But with an eye of playing our best lineups to win, some had limited playing time. Hopefully they still learnt through observing the games.
What are your thoughts now going back into training ahead of the 2019 Sea Games?
We have work to do! We have to start correcting and improving the details of the system we want to play so that we can execute them more consistently.
Do you have anything to say to those back home that have believed, supported and cheered Team Malaysia on?
Thank you and keep on supporting us!