Good vibes on the plane

Ong Kim Swee wants positive vibes on the plane as the national youth team depart for Phnom Penh, Cambodia, this morning.

Kim Swee has urged his players to put aside the negativity from media reports in the past few days about clubs not releasing their players for national training.

The team will have to manage without five good players: Selangor’s Syahmi Safari, Felda United’s Danial Amier and Zahril Azri Zabri, and Pahang’s Faisal Halim and Kedah’s Fadzrul,

Malaysia will meet Cambodia on Feb 18, Indonesia on Feb 20, and Myanmar on Feb 22 in Group B.

“We have sorted out all the issues and I wouldn’t say we don’t have enough players because only five (who received call-ups, didn’t turn up,” said Kim Swee, who guided the national under-23 team to the Asian U23 Championship quarter-finals last year.

“I want to see that the team move past all the negativity as we travel,” he added.

After five days of training (with three to four days dedicated to tactical preparations), Kim Swee said there is still much to work on.

He hopes that the two days in Phnom Penh before their first match against hosts Cambodia on Monday will help to improve the team.

Describing his team as the underdogs in the AFF Under-22 Championship (Feb 17-March 2), Kim Swee hopes Malaysia progress past the group stages.

Kim Swee is banking on Johor Darul Ta’zim’s (JDT) centreback Dominic Tan and goalkeeper Muhammad Haziq Nadzli to shore up the team’s weak points — the midfield and defence.