TOE THE LINE OR ELSE
No room for indiscipline in Kim Swee’s squad
DEVINDER SINGH devinder@nst.com.my
NATIONAL youth coach Ong Kim Swee will use the six weeks left before the start of the AFC Under-23 Championship in China to whip his players into shape and instill discipline into his side.
After 27 players turned up over the last two days in various degrees of fitness levels, Kim Swee said it will take about a week for everyone to reach the optimum level.
Only three players have yet to report for training due to various reasons and Kim Swee stressed that he will not be taking issues over discipline lightly as he formulates a game plan for the tournament.
With Malaysia set to face Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia in Group C on Jan 10-16, Kim Swee wants his players ready to face all challenges.
“All departments need work. I can’t say it’s just goalkeeper, defence, midfield or strikers. The most important thing is that when we go to China, we have 23 players who are willing to work hard,” said Kim Swee at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya yesterday.
“You can have very good technique but if you don’t work hard and have discipline, there’s a chance you won’t be picked.
“The 23 players selected must be good in all areas, especially in respect of discipline on and off the field.
“I hope the players take this as a challenge and prove themselves and with their spirit and discipline, then we can get a result.”
Kim Swee has already devised a plan to get his players fit ahead of the team’s first friendly match against Petaling Jaya Rangers on Dec 9 by splitting them into groups.
“It’s only our second day together and to evaluate the players I will need at least a week and after playing friendly matches,” said Kim Swee, who coached the team to a silver medal at the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games in August.
“The fitness level of most players is very low, which is to be expected.
“Some have rested a month, some two weeks, so we have to be very careful in our approach to training and not push them too hard in a short period.
“We will implement something in training by splitting them into groups depending on their fitness.”
Terengganu goalkeeper Amierul Hakimi Awang joined the squad yesterday, leaving just Tommy Mawat Bada (travel problems), Matthew Davies (injury) and Syafiq Ahmad (wedding) yet to report for training.