JUST days after an exhilarating 2-0 win over Indonesia, Harimau Malaya coach Tan Cheng Hoe is already back in his office plotting the national team’s trip to Abu Dhabi next March for their World Cup/Asian Cup qualifying match against the United Arab Emirates.
As Malaysia face UAE on March 26, 2020, Cheng Hoe plans to have his team travel to Abu Dhabi earlier so that they can acclimatise themselves to the weather there as it will be the end of winter then.
He is also trying to pencil in a friendly against a local team there, saying the warm-up match would be crucial for the players to get used to the condition in the Middle East.
Harimau Malaya ended the year on a high after defeating Thailand (2-1) last week and Indonesia on Tuesday to be second in Group G with nine points from five matches.
Vietnam lead the group with 11 points, while Thailand are in third spot with eight points followed by UAE (six points with a game in hand) and Indonesia, who have lost all five matches.
Now, Cheng Hoe is keen to see his team continue their winning run against the UAE.
“Everybody is on holiday now, but we do have some planning (to do) for the national team.
“It doesn’t include going overseas (for training camps) so far, but we definitely need a warm-up match before the UAE game,” said Cheng Hoe.
“We are trying to get a local team there as that will be the best preparation for us to adapt to the weather before the crucial match.”
Despite having won their last two group matches, the 51-year-old coach admitted that he is still unhappy with certain aspects of his team’s performance.
“We won the two matches and there were many positives, but the players looked very sloppy in the first 20 minutes against Indonesia.
“I don’t know whether they were lethargic or over-confident. I want the players to start every match with the same kind of energy and intensity — from the start to the final whistle,” said Cheng Hoe.
Meanwhile, FA of Malaysia (FAM) secretary general Stuart Ramalingam said they are working closely with the Malaysian Football League (MFL) to ensure Cheng Hoe will get sufficient time to get the Harimau Malaya ready despite the constraints of the Fifa international match day window.
“The Fifa windows are short (March 23-31) and under the circumstances, the players are called a week or five days before the window starts.
“There will be two friendly matches in the March and June (June 1-9) windows,” he said.
“We also need to see who’s available in the region because that greatly depends on their local leagues as well.
“Previously, we did play two friendly matches outside the window — against Tajikistan and Jordan.”
Malaysia’s last two group matches will be against Vietnam (at home) on March 31 and Thailand (away) on June 9.