PETALING JAYA: Datuk K. Rajagopal’s days as the national football coach are numbered.
The writing is on the wall for the 57-year-old former international following a string of poor results, which include 10 defeats in 13 international matches (competition and friendlies) played this year.
The latest was the 5-0 drubbing by J-League Division Two outfit Tokyo Verdy during the playing tour of Japan, which saw the Malaysians lose all three matches against J-League Division One sides – Shimizu S-Pulse (2-0) and Shonan Bellmare (5-0).
The FA of Malaysia (FAM) deputy president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said the performances of all FAM coaches with contracts expiring in December will be reviewed.
“We will set up a panel to discuss and evaluate the performances of all the coaches. I have stressed the need of a winning mentality ... and the urgency of the national team to buck up.
“The coach and the players must be accountable for the continuous inept showings,” said a disappointed Tengku Abdullah, after chairing the technical committee meeting yesterday.
Rajagopal has come under fire for the national team’s dwindling form since they emerged champions at the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup.
Rajagopal, who has been in charge of the national team since 2009, has a tall order to qualify on merit for the 2015 Asian Cup Finals in Australia.
However, things are not going smoothly, for Rajagopal.
The national team opened their Asian Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 loss to Qatar in February before bouncing back with a 2-1 win over Yemen in March. They will host Bahrain next at home on Oct 15. Malaysia are third in the four-team standings with three points from two matches.
Tengku Abdullah said there has been calls for the removal of Rajagopal but he said “ it is very difficult to dismiss him now as the tournament is ongoing. If at all we want to change the coach we need someone better than him”.
Tengku Abdullah also said they have received several candidates as replacement for Rajagopal.
He said the FAM are also looking at hiring a new technical director and a football director of development to co-ordinate the progress of the national team.
National team manager Datuk Subahan Kamal said they made a bad choice by going for the friendly matches in Japan during the fasting month.
“It is no excuse but in truth we did not meet the expectations,” said Subahan.
He said the national team will have one-day break before they assemble for training for the high profile friendly against the visiting Barcelona team at the National Stadium on Aug 10.
He said they have also line up friendlies against Grenada (home) on Sept 6, China (Shanghai) on Sept 10, UAE (Shenzhen) on Oct 9 and Bosnia (home) on Nov 10.
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