FUTURE UNCERTAIN
Cheng Hoe leaves it to FAM to offer him a contract extension
TAN Cheng Hoe is clueless on whether he will be retained as the national coach. The 50-year-old’s contract with the FA of Malaysia (FAM) expires at the end of the month.
Although, Malaysia failed to win the AFF Cup, Cheng Hoe achieved FAM’s target of reaching the final.
Cheng Hoe, who replaced Portuguese Nelo Vingada last December, said it is all up to FAM on whether the national body want to offer him a contract extension.
“I leave it to FAM. As a coach, I have given my best to the team. I thank my players, coaching staff and the management of FAM for giving me undivided support throughout my tenure,” he said after the AFF Cup final return leg match against Vietnam in Hanoi on Saturday.
Cheng Ho noted that his team showed progress throughout the tournament.
However, the former Kedah coach does not want the players to become too comfortable with the achievement.
“I am happy that we managed to achieve the target. However, players must continue to strive on and improve. Only then, the team can qualify for bigger tournaments such as the Asian Cup.
“Before this, the team always played defensively and relied on counter attacks against good teams, but in this tournament, we were different. We played aggressive against teams like Thailand and Vietnam.
“We need to look forward and build on our style of play (possession football and short passing). If we continue with our pattern of play, I believe we will be able to beat top ranking teams in the future.
For the record, Harimau Malaya achieved eight wins, three draws and five defeats under Cheng Hoe throughout the season.
And the team have also improved seven rungs from World No 174 (under Vingada) in the Fifa rankings.