THE Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) have confirmed that Datuk Ong Kim Swee will continue to serve as interim coach until the Asian Cup qualifier against Yemen on March 5 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Vice president and national team manager Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal in a press conference said, “We want to end speculations surrounding the new national team head coach. After talks held last week in Kuala Lumpur, the deal with Philippe Troussier did not reach a compromise.
“With that, we are putting Datuk Ong Kim Swee in charge of the national team to face Yemen in the 2015 AFC qualifier in March.”
FAM Secretary-General Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin also confirmed that Kim Swee has signed a new contract to continue as Harimau Muda A head coach, but funnily enough he forgot the date.
“Yes he (Kim Swee) has signed the contract, but I can’t remember the date,” Hamidin said.
When asked if there were others who have expressed their interest to coach the national squad, Subahan said, “I’m sure more candidates will send in their application, now that the deal with Troussier did not go through. We will not stop them and talks will go on.”
Kim Swee’s Harimau Muda A will also be competing in the Queensland National League, and will be leaving to Brisbane on Feb 28.
Asked if it would be too taxing to handle both teams, Kim Swee said, “My coaching staff are very capable to manage the team. They will leave earlier, and I will join them after the Yemen match.”
The national team will take on the Philippines in a friendly on March 1 at the Selayang Stadium before flying off to UAE.
They will also take on Singapore in August and who knows by then, we might have a new coach to steer the national team to the AFF Cup in December, co-hosted by Singapore and Vietnam.
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