The Malaysian players warming up before starting practice session. - Photo by FAM
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia coach Kim Pan-gon (pic) is no stranger to adversity. The South Korean is one who relishes the challenge of having to thrive under it.
Thus, he’s not making a fuss over the unavailability of Johor Darul Ta’zim players Endrick dos Santos and Arif Aiman Hanapi, who are out with injuries, for the friendly against Hong Kong at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri tonight.
Pan-gon said that making do with what you have when some key players are not available is a good test for a coach.
“I always overcome difficult situations. We have to be positive and trust the players that we have at our disposal. We play as a team and I don’t want to rely on one single player to power the team,” said Pan-gon.
“For me, survival is about being one as a team. I’m resilient and use my wisdom to overcome these situations.
“Our boys are passionate and have a good attitude and that helps a lot.”
On the game against Hong Kong, Pan-gon, who used to coach them from 2012 to 2017, said he expected his charges to perform even better than in their 1-0 win over Turkmenistan last Thursday.
“I follow the Hong Kong closely, as I set up the training system there while I was the coach. Most of the players in the team now are from that system. They’ve made impressive progress by reaching the Asian Cup,” he said.
“It’s going to be a good game. We will try to control and dominate the game and get a good win.”
Meanwhile, centreback Shahrul Saad is eager to impress in the match to keep his regular spot in the team.
“A lot of players are in their best shape and are fit to play in my position. That is healthy competition that will keep me highly motivated,” said Shahrul.
