MALAYSIAN Football League (MFL) head of talent management Stanley Bernard stressed that national coach Tan Cheng Hoe will need more depth in his team for Malaysia to qualify for the World Cup.
That means Cheng Hoe needs 25 players who are about equally good for the first 11.
Stanley, 33, a former Kuala Lumpur player, said for the national team to have good depth, the M-League teams must play their part in developing quality players.
For example, he said when Khairulazhan Khalid got injured against Indonesia (when Malaysia won 3-2 in a World Cup qualifier in Jakarta), Farizal Marlias came on.
It was a case of Khairulazhan being replaced by Malaysia’s number one goalkeeper, not the first choice being replaced by the second choice.
“We need that in every position,” said Stanley.
He said if the Super League has four to five clubs competing at a high level, it can lead to depth in the national team.
Nonetheless, Stanley said the national team’s results were commendable this year, for which he attributed to Cheng Hoe’s coaching which suited the national players.
Among those who thrived under Cheng Hoe were midfielder Brendan Gan and striker Safawi Rasid.
“The win against Thailand (2-1 at Bukit Jalil) was remarkable. When we were a goal down, we still stuck to our playing style but changed our mentality,” said Stanley.
“It showed a lot about our football but most importantly, it showed our mental side which wins football matches.”
If Stanley could be in Cheng Hoe’s shoes for a day, he said he would focus on JDT’s Syafiq Ahmad.
“I would get Syafiq to be a total number 9 that this country needs. Work on his movement around the box to always be at the end of a move or a cross to finish off chances.
“What a talent but he needs a striker's guidance and he will be a gem of a striker.”
On his wishes for 2020, the football pundit said: “I hope the clubs can start producing their own talent through development, or in other words, every club in the Super League should have their own NFDP (National Football Development Plan).
“This is to ensure they churn out potential talent every year, hence raising the quality of professional clubs and the league.
“The national team can eventually get a huge pool of players playing at a high level to pick from.”