JOHOR BAHRU: The Malaysian juniors have nothing but only pride left to play for when they meet Japan in the Sultan of Johor Cup (SoJC) tomorrow at the Taman Daya Stadium.
After a four-match losing streak, which led to their fifth-sixth classification match (with one pool match in hand), coach Amin Rahim is hard-pressed to motivate his charges.
But Amin, a former national No 1 penalty corner flicker who has seen the ups and downs of the Malaysian team during his playing days, knows his players' feelings.
"It's difficult to motivate a losing side, and with four defeats at home, it will be even harder but I believe in this set of players and I will prepare them to fight till the end against Japan and also to avoid the sixth spot," said Amin.
However, his team appear to be half-baked, as their fitness is suspect, making them vulnerable to counterattacks in the third and fourth quarters.
"We (the team of coaches) did not have enough time to build their fitness, and it showed in all the matches.
"But not to worry, we will address that issue with three months of intensive fitness training after the SoJC as I have no issues with my players skills and basics," said Amin.
The other issue is penalty corner set-pieces, which Malaysia have yet to capitalise on in the SoJC.
"We have three dragflickers but never got the chance to train on penalty corner set-pieces because the battery is not experienced in that department.
"This will also be rectified as we plan for the Junior World Cup in December next year," said Amin.
The Malaysian Hockey Confederation sent this team to the SoJC with no targets, but have set a semi-final target in the Junior World Cup (JWC) which Malaysia will host.
So, their first step towards a JWC semis push will be to beat Japan and then fight for fifth place in the classification.
TODAY — Britain v India (4.05pm), Malaysia v Japan (6.05pm), Australia v South Africa (8.35pm).