PETALING JAYA: Interim national football team coach Tan Cheng Hoe faces a tough task to equal his feat in 2018 when he guides the Harimau Malaya at the AFF Hyundai Cup starting on July 24.
Cheng Hoe, who previously helmed Malaysia from 2017 to 2022, led the team to a runners-up finish at the AFF Suzuki Cup eight years ago where they lost to Vietnam 2-3 on aggregate.
This time, he faces two huge challenges. Cheng Hoe has way less time to prepare the squad and he has several players who are new to the international scene.
“The 2018 campaign and now are different. I had a longer time to prepare the squad then, but now it’s a different challenge because we have a lot of players who are raw at the international level,” he said.
“The situation is challenging because the AFF Cup is a competition outside the FIFA calendar, and that affects our preparations as most teams in the Super League are entering their pre-season phase.’’
With just nine days before Malaysia’s opener, Cheng Hoe said the priority would be to build fitness and cohesion within a tight timeframe.
“We’ll focus on each individual and get them to gel together as a team. Some of them haven’t reached the desired fitness level, so we’ll monitor that every day.”
Malaysia are drawn in Group B with Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar and Laos.
They open their campaign against Myanmar in Yangon on July 25, before facing Laos at the Cheras Football Stadium on July 28.
