You can’t blame Malaysian fans for getting excited over the attributes that have been showcased by the National Football Development Program’s U-13 squad, but according to it’s Technical Director Lim Teong Kim, there’s still plenty of room to improve.
NFDP’s U13 squad played 10 competitive fixtures across the UK, winning their first five games, before falling to a 2-0 defeat against City. They bounced back by staying unbeaten in the last four fixtures – even beating Tottenham Hotspur 7-2.
The former Bayern Munich youth coach claimed that while their Europe Tour was largely successful in fulfilling general objectives that were predetermined before they departed, it was also crucial in pointing out severe flaws that need to be dealt with as they progress.
“I noticed that there are plenty of things to fix. Our players need to be consistent. Not do well in one game, then drop their tempo in the next one,” he told Harian Metro.
“But that being said, our main objective was to get competitive fixtures against quality teams as they would pressure our team. That was fulfilled.
“I’m not satisfied though, we still need to work on plenty of things,” he added.
WHAT DO WE THINK?
This is the sort of hunger Malaysian football needs. The mentality shift needs to happen and Lim Teong Kim is already setting the bar really high. Winning 7-0 is amazing, but it’s nothing if there’s no consistency. It’s easy for players to be overjoyed by one result and remain fixated on it, but as long as Lim continues to instill this sort of mentality in them, the players will be nurtured in such a way that they will continue to hunt after wins and they will never be settled with just one good result. Terrific stuff!
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