Former national team boss B. Sathianathan believes that Datuk Ong Kim Swee has what it takes to do well as the new Malaysian head coach, after his appointment was confirmed in a press conference, yesterday.
Ong was reportedly in the running with two other candidates in the form of Bojan Hodak as well as Robert Alberts. But the FAM Task Force, which included Sathianathan, opted to hand the job to Kim Swee after thoroughly evaluating all three of them.
The appointment generated instant skepticism from fans, but Sathia believes that they’ve appointed the right man in this situation.
“Obviously he’ll have to prove himself. But we wanted a head coach who understands how Asian football as well as Malaysian football works,” he said.
“We had several foreign candidates – all of whom merely applied through their agents. But were considered various aspects, before finally appointing Kim Swee.
“Previously, he merely inherited Dollah Salleh’s squad. But right now, he has enough time to shape his own squad,” he added.
Ong Kim Swee’s immediate attention will be shifted towards the Asian Cup Qualifiers, besides getting Malaysia to climb up the FIFA Rankings ladder. He would also be required to prepare a squad for the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup, as well as assist Frank Bernhardt’s preparations for the 2017 SEA Games.
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