THE national team must put aside the disappointment of failing to advance into the group stages of the Asian Zone World Cup Qualifiers and focus on retaining the AFF Cup and qualifying for the 2015 Asian Cup.
FA of Malaysia (FAM) deputy president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said he is aware of the enormous task at hand but national coach K. Rajagobal must find a way to motivate his squad after they were beaten 6-4 on aggregate by Singapore in the two-leg second round last week.
Tengku Abdullah said Rajagobal and his coaching staff must figure out what went wrong and address the problems. "There were some criticisms on the team's tactics, strategy and choice of players. It will be discussed at the FAM technical meeting soon.
Tengku Abdullah said Rajagobal and his coaching staff must figure out what went wrong and address the problems. "There were some criticisms on the team's tactics, strategy and choice of players. It will be discussed at the FAM technical meeting soon.
"After the defeat, various parties have come forward to voice out their views and I have mine too," said Tengku Abdullah in Muadzam Shah, Rompin on Tuesday.
Tengku Abdullah said FAM will hold a post-mortem of both matches. Turning to Rajagobal's target of getting Malaysia to qualify for the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia, Tengku Abdullah said he was optimistic the coach will be able to put together a formidable side.
"It must be remembered that it's a young batch of players and Rajagobal will have to get them ready in the next two years," he said.
"It must be remembered that it's a young batch of players and Rajagobal will have to get them ready in the next two years," he said.
"The young players need to gain more experience on the international stage so the FAM will help arrange more matches to expose them to competitive matches."
The friendly match against Oman on Aug 9 in Muscat has been called off but they will play the Indonesian national side in September.
On the Olympic squad currently in Slovakia preparing for the Asian Olympic qualifiers, Tengku Abdullah said FAM does not want to put pressure on team.
The national Olympic team, who have been drawn in Group C with Japan, Syria and Bahrain, are expected to return from Slovakia on Aug 28 before travelling to South Korea for a friendly match.
They open their Olympic qualifying campaign against Japan on Sept 21 before meeting Syria (Nov 23) and Bahrain (Nov 27) at the National Stadium.
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