Paying close attention: Harimau Malaya head coach Pau Marti Vicente observing his players during a training session. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Harimau Malaya head coach Pau Marti Vicente isn’t letting “overhead” distractions get in the way of his charges at the Asian Football Federation (AFF) Championship kicking off today.
The national team are in Phnom Penh to take on Cambodia in their opening Group A match today, but their training sessions had been interrupted by drones flying overhead.
Vicente denied that it could be the watchful eyes of their opponents, but felt let down that the team were bothered by the drones.
“We faced some issues with drones flying above our training pitch.
“It was a bit disturbing, but I don’t think it was the Cambodian team. It was just a bit disappointing that we had to face those issues,” he said during the pre-match press conference yesterday.
Vicente added that the squad stayed focused on their own training routine, and didn’t let themselves get distracted by the drones.
“We just made sure that the drones weren’t there anymore. It could have just been a coincidence, but maybe not.
“I still don’t think it was from their side (Cambodia), but if it is then it would be very disappointing.
“Regardless, we just kept going with our session because the most important thing is what we do and not what our opponents are doing,” he said.
Having announced that the AFF Cup would be his final duty as the national team head coach, Vicente hoped that the news would not affect his players in the tournament.
“I hope it has not affected the team. At the end of the day, it was not something that I could fully control.
“Maybe it was not the best time to announce the news, but the best time was also to do it before the tournament, because once we start we don’t want any distractions,” he said.
He added that the locker room is filled with professionals who can separate what goes on both off and on the pitch.
“I believe the players and coaches are very professional.
“Even though the coaching staff and myself are still unsure about our futures and are dealing with FAM about that, we remain professional,” he said.
